Masterpieces

I recently reread Mary Karr’s Liar’s Club, and a few nights ago, finished Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood. Both are memoirs. Both are masterpieces, yet so different in so many ways.

Karr’s story is set in the stuffocating heat of east Texas, in a mosquito-infested neighborhood near the oil refinery where her dad worked. Dillard’s takes place in the privileged echelons of Pittsburg, PA in a neighborhood full of large homes with large lawns shaded by Buckeye trees.

Both memoirs focus on the authors’ childhoods through the time they left home as young adults. Karr is dealing with a hard drinking dad and a mom who is mentally unstable. Dillard’s parents are well-to-do members of Pittsburg society who frequent the country club.

Karr’s problem is navigating a mother she can’t trust because of her unpredictable highs and lows. Dillard is trying to navigate steady parenting headed for a predictable lifestyle she’s not eager to join.

Both authors narrate their stories with a unique voice. Mary Karr uses the earthy, barroom diction of her dad, with descriptions like, “A butt like two bulldogs in a bag.” Dillard uses the ethereal language of the intellect. “Consciousness converges with the child as a landing tern touches the outspread feet of its shadow on the sand; precisely, toe hits toe.”

These authors clearly understand their stories and are able to express them in a manner that helps readers better understand their own.

Dan. B. Allender, author of To Be Told, puts it this way,” Your life and mine not only reveal who we are, but they also help reveal who God is.” The idea being we are God’s messages sent into the world to proclaim his truth and mercy with our very lives.

At a recent conference, songwriter, author, and speaker, Linda Story, asked what engineer in his right mind would design a piece of equipment without knowing ahead of time what he wanted it to do? God as our creator, makes us with his purposes in mind.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do good things he planned for us long ago.”

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

In other words, your life in Christ is no less a masterpiece than Mary Karr’s or Annie Dillard’s even if it isn’t written down in eloquent prose. Whether you’re a writer or built with completely different talents, your life, your story, is one of God’s messages to the world.

Perhaps Mary Karr and Annie Dillard’s stories could agree on this, that God alone is the heavenly parent we all long for, and His way is the only way to live a satisfying life. My own story points to God’s protection of the vulnerable, the redemption of the shamed, and the freedom of being adopted as His chosen, beloved child with a fresh new identity.

Your life may be more heart-wrenching than Mary Karr’s, more privileged than Annie Dillard’s, or as ordinary as mine. The truth is, the Lord doesn’t bake cookie cutter people. So, don’t compare yourself. Love yourself. And love your family and friends with all their quirks and flaws with the lavish love of Christ. Every believer, no matter her place in the universe or her personal plight, is a voice in the chorus designed to sing the grandeur and grace of God.

Michael Angelo wasn’t a writer, but one of his masterpieces is painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. And what does it depict? Adam’s finger reaching across the heavens to point to his maker.

What is God’s message through you? Think about it. You’re a masterpiece too with good work designed especially for you.

Cover photo by Peter Petrucci on Unsplash

Copyright Ann C. Averill 2022