Today I read Tim Ladwig’s Psalm 23 to my children in Tembisa. The text is straight out of the Bible, but the pictures show the inner city of Newark, New Jersey—not so very different from the inner city of Johannesburg. When the Psalm says, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me,” the painting shows a crossing guard with her stop sign on a high pole, helping the children to get safely home from school. My favorite is the view through the window into a lighted kitchen where the children are having dinner with their grandparents. Outside in the darkness lurk the dangerous-looking characters we saw on the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ pages while the text says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
Last night there were riots in some of the informal settlements (i.e. squatter camps, aka shanty towns) of Tembisa and other townships around Johannesburg. Foreigners were targeted. Not white, American-types like me, but Mozambicans and Zimbabweans, fellow-Africans who are political or economic refugees. In tough times it is easy to blame outsiders for your troubles, and right now the seven million Zimbabweans illegally in the country due to Mugabe's election antics make good scapegoats.
I called Tembisa before I went today. “No, it is fine,” Flora said. So I went. I don’t know what these children saw or heard last night. I can’t guess what they might experience tonight, but the message of Psalm 23 seemed especially apt.
On the way to school, the children in Ladwig’s book pass a church with a big stained-glass window of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. When the last verse says, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” the picture shows a similar window over the children’s bed. This time instead of a lamb, Jesus holds the children, and instead of trees and streams in the background, there are the streets of the city that we have seen throughout the book.
We talked a little of God’s protection in Tembisa. I don’t know how much the children understood. It was a particularly chaotic day with no adult but me. Some of the boys were loud and rambunctious, but they seemed to identify with the details of Ladwig’s paintings. We read the psalm aloud together. I pray that tonight they will remember.
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3 comments:
What a way to end my day! Today was our preschool graduation, and the highlight (for me anyway) was the reciting of the 23rd Psalm by our "graduates". It was particularly moving because one of our families lost a child this past year. Then just as I was about to go to bed, with the 23rd Psalm and my little darlings still in my thoughts, I noticed that you had a new blog, and it's about Psalm 23! You are helping me transition from last year to next. The psalm will always remind me of the children I'm leaving behind. The Wichita part reminds me of where I'll be next year, the city. At least I think that's where God is leading. I'll have to get that book.
Hello, friend. Just a small correction. While the amazing painter Tim Ladwig resides in Kansas, the pictures in Psalm 23 depict Newark, NJ. I was the principal of Newark Christian School in the early 1990's and took the photographs that were Tim's reference for his paintings. We obtained the permission of four of our students' parents so that the children could be depicted. We wanted to show the timelessness of this holy text and now, over 15 years later, I am so blessed at how truly timeless it is.
Thank you for the correction, friend. I will see that it is made for future readers. It is a beautiful book. You and the children can be proud of your participation. May Psalm 23 continue to impact all your lives.
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