For most of her life, Maud Lewis lived in a pint-sized one-room house with no running water or electricity near Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada. The 10′ x 9′ cottage became her canvas, and she painted almost everything. Birds and butterflies fluttered across the door. Vibrant flowers covered the windows, the walls, the cupboards, the little staircase to the sleeping loft, the woodstove, and the breadbox. Even the dustpan was covered in daisies.
She never traveled more than sixty miles in any direction from home. She never saw a work of art by another artist and never attended an art class. Her paintings captured a simple life filled with the beauty and joy of the world she saw. Working with leftover house paint and scrap wood did not diminish her enthusiasm. There’s no rain in the clouds, no shadows in the corners; Maud Lewis’ paintings are bright with sunshine, serene landscapes, whimsical animals, and calm seascapes.
The exuberant style of Maud’s paintings may be surprising given the difficulties she faced. Maud had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which gave her a tiny frame, shoulders that hunched, a chin that pressed into her chest, and gnarled hands.
How could someone live in poverty with crippling arthritis for over thirty years yet produce the most cheerful artwork? You could say her life was defined by the words of an old hymn, “Brighten the Corner Where You Are.”
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar,
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!
(Ina D. Ogdon, 1913)
Paul followed a similar approach to life. From the confinement of a prison cell, he wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, ESV).
The secret to loving life is loving Jesus. Is that all? That is everything.
