Today I took my mom and dad to the ear doctor to order some new hearing aids. On the way out, we went down a long hallway. We always travel slowly, so I enjoy noticing the people and decor around me. About half way down the hall, a large piece of art on the wall struck me. It was a picture of George Washington and his horse outside alone in the woods on a winter day. Washington is on one knee, hat off, and head bowed in prayer. I had never seen anything like it. I wanted to find out more about the picture, so I looked it up when I got home. The original painting is called The Prayer as Valley Forge and was done by Arnold Friberg. It is a depiction of Washington praying in Valley Forge as he and his troops were hanging on for dear life through the relentless winter. The story that inspired the artist came from the diary of a Presbyterian minister named Nathaniel Randolph Snowden. A friend of the minister told him of how he came upon Washington in the scene and Snowden recorded the meeting. Evidently, there is some controversy about the account – was it true, or a myth. In any case, it gave me good food for thought and contemplation as we begin our Fourth of July celebration.

I Found God today in a beautiful picture of our first president in prayer.