Daniel in the Lion's Den

When I was young, my mother and father would read to me and my siblings after we climbed into bed with them in the mornings. I remember many books, Sounder, The Yearling, Where the Red Fern Grows, and particularly stories from a children's version of the Bible. They are memories I cherish, a time I felt safe and loved. Centered above my parents' bed at that time was an oil painting of Daniel in the Lion's Den painted by my mother.

Many years later, after I was married and visiting my parents, I told Mom that there was only one thing I really wanted of theirs after they died, and that was her painting of Daniel in the Lion's Den. That painting embodies so many cherished memories: being read to as a child, their love for me, my mother's skill as an artist, and my love of the Bible stories, particularly of the Old Testament, as taught to me by her. Then she taught me another wonderful lesson. She walked over to that painting that hung on her wall, pulled it off and handed it to me. She said, "It's yours." The painting now sits above my side of our bed.

As a trusts and estates lawyer, I have used that story many times to illustrate to clients one way of dealing effectively with tangible personal property with their children: give it away before they die.

I was teaching a Gospel Doctrine lesson in Sunday School recently and took the painting as the topic was the writings of Daniel in the Old Testament. Afterwards I called Mom and asked her what she could remember about the painting. It was about 1957, the year I was born. Mom, and her good friend, Helen Wiscomb, were taking an oil painting class from a woman instructor at a community college. Mom loved religion and was intrigued by a picture of Daniel she saw somewhere, perhaps from one of the church magazines. The painting was copied from a similar picture, as was a another painting she did at the time, of an egg and feather.