I saw this painting many years ago and I’ve never forgotten it.  There are times when it just pops into my mind.  I think it’s the hope in the faces of these girls.  A brightness of hope.  Today I visited the quilt show at the Springville Art Museum and then I went upstairs to take a picture of this large painting so I can save it here and look at it whenever I want to.

There’s a whole gallery of Russian art upstairs.  These are just a few of my favorites.

My father had 2 cousins, Walter and Heinz Wacker, who fought for the Germans in Russia.  Both were killed there in 1943 and 1945.  They were the only children of my Grandpa’s sister, Marie.  It was heartbreaking for the whole family.

This painting depicts the breaking of the German stronghold in 1944.

I love this last painting because it reminds me of what life was like in the 1940s in Europe.  I imagine my German family looked much like this as they worked in the fields and vineyards around Grossgartach.

It’s interesting to look into the faces in these paintings of the Russian people, knowing their descendants are now neck deep in another war, where hope is wearing thin.  The  fighting against Ukraine has been going on since last February and there is no end in sight.  The world has rallied around the Ukrainian forces to combat Russia’s attempts to take over their country.  There is little or no light in Russian faces today.  

I long for Jesus to come again and to bring peace to our torn and troubled world.  I long for all to have that perfect brightness of hope.