#95 Attend the Carl Bloch Exhibit

I heard a lot of incredible things about this exhibit when it opened and knew I wanted to go eventually. I finally had the chance to see the exhibit a couple of weeks ago. Carl Bloch truly was a remarkable artist. I've seen lots of his paintings before, but some of them were completely new to me. The Museum of Art at BYU has set up a wonderful self-guided tour with some donated i-Pads that really enhance the experience. They have video interviews with one of the museum curators, as well as with a religion professor (unfortunately his name escapes me). They gave wonderful insights about the paintings and their connections with the scriptures and Christ's life. 

This is the painting that really hit me hard. It's called "Gethsemane." This was one of the works that was completely new to me. I'd never seen it before. It's a reference to the scripture in Luke 22:42-44 where it says,

"Father, if thou be willing, 

remove this cup from me: 

nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, 

strengthening him." 

 Click on the painting and see if you can make it any bigger. Look close at Christ's eyes...that's what hit me so hard.

You know that feeling after you've been crying about something for hours and hours? Crying is exhausting. My eyelids feel so heavy after all those tears. They get all swollen, and it's hard to keep them open. You've felt the entire time you've been upset like you just want to lay down, forget everything, and sleep. But you know that if you try to sleep your thoughts will race through your mind, and they won't allow you to dive into your subconscious where everything is ok. 

But finally, you reach a point when all you can do is sleep. All the tears have worn you down to almost nothing. You feel like you can't stand anymore, you're too weak. So you lay down on your bed, and close your eyes. 

Your eyes are so heavy. Your mind is blank and numb. You feel like you've just been through hell. 

I've only experienced this a few times in my life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I think we've all experienced something like this. The incredible thing...Christ went through that for all of us. Multiply the feelings I just described by a trillion, and cram it all into a fairly short amount of time. Even then, I don't know if that's a sufficient description of what He did for us.

And now this angel comes to his rescue. He's completely dependent on the angel to hold him upright. I can't imagine what He had gone through before this point in His ministry. And He would still experience so much more. It's such a perfect testimony to me that His Atonement for us was real, and that He knows exactly what we're experiencing when we feel so lost, alone, frightened, sad, whatever it is....He knows and He understands. 

If you have the opportunity to see this exhibit, I really encourage you to make it happen. It's incredible. It's open through May 7th this year, so hurry. It really strengthened my testimony of Christ.