More
about Marie Smith
Meet Marie Smith, a Christian artist, who paints beautiful scenes
from the Hantam area.
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Hantam Prayer
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Father, let me be calm,
Soothe my anxious heartbeat
Slow down the crazy pace of my life
My life, just one step in the eternal tread of time.
You know the tension of my life
Tension that no one else can see
And the anxious beat of my heart.
Father, please let me be still,
So that my soul can hear the music of nature,
and the beauty of it can fill me,
Bring peace in my heart so that I can fold my shaking hands,
that my anxious heart can be calm.
Please help me to enjoy an unconcerned rest at night
with the innocent belief in You, my Father.
Teach me how to relax now and then,
perhaps to admire a small flower or to caress a little dog
And to laugh and play with my beloved ones.
Father, let me be calm so that I do not surpass the true
values of life.
Turn my eyes to heaven so that the notion of eternity can
overwhelm me,
Can slow my anxious tread, and can give me Your Peace.
AMEN |
With my paintings I try to reproduce the peace and tranquility that
can only be found in nature. I also appreciate the roots from which I
originate.
Every time I see the ruins of a former house, I can imagine the
dreams and hopes that were built in and around that house. How much joy
and sorrow lay strangled between the fallen walls, a house that is now
only a pathetic heap of stones. Every time I wonder what caused the
house to be abandoned.
It is good for me to listen to the voice of nature. In the silence I
can hear the voice of God, just as in the rustling of the wind and the
falling raindrops.
Looking at the Hantam Mountains from my birthplace, I think
about it: How often did my ancestors look at the same grey mountains? Then I wonder if they were as fascinated as I am. Surely they were!
With the passing of time, I realise more and more how small I am, for
as each of my ancestors looked at and admired the mountains and fields around
them and wondered, so I do it today. And over fifty or hundred years, my
descendants will also think about me.
After my retirement I started working on my paintings, as it was always my
obsession. Now it is wonderful therapy.
Upon retiring, we went back to our place of birth, Calvinia.
The town nestles right at the foot of the Hantam mountains. The mountain
also occupies part of our retirement farm, Akkerendam, but today
we live in the town and every morning and evening we enjoy the wonder of
the masterpieces of God.
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(Click on thumbnail for
larger version) |
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Majestic Hantam Mountains |
Marie's beautiful sheepdog |
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