Their Guardian Angel -Paint Party Friday

When I was a little girl, my Mother gave me a beautiful painting for my bedroom.  "It's your little brother and you," she would say.  I loved that picture.  I would often fall asleep looking at it--knowing in my little girl heart that my own Guardian Angel was there beside me.  That print still hangs in my office today. 

This past week, inspired by that wonderful vintage picture, I drew my own version--only with sisters crossing the bridge.  I have the sweetest sisters in the world--and this is for each of them.  I love them dearly and I am incredibly blessed to have them in my life.

Above you see the wonderful artwork which encouraged me for so many years.  I did some research and I discovered there's an interesting backstory to this painting.

In the 1800s artists across Europe began selling paintings of guardian angels watching over young children as they traveled perilous pathways along dangerously high cliffs.

In 1900, a German postcard maker broke that tradition and published a painting by an unknown artist featuring two children and their guardian angel watching over them as they crossed a precarious bridge over treacherous waters

The postcard found an especially receptive audience in the hills of Appalachia, where just about every family used a broken-down, dubiously safe bridge to get home.  Those bridges were built over  steep valleys where flash floods and swift waters were common.

Over time, people associated the painting with God's protection in all of life's hardships.  Mothers and Grandmothers across the mountains began hanging this picture in their living rooms. Today the painting is recognized world wide.

Thank you, dear ones for reading this fascinating bit of history and for dropping by!  It is a happy treat when you visit.  I deeply appreciate your encouraging comments.

May God protect your dear ones and bring hope to your hearts.  Happy Paint Party Friday!