Madeleine L'Engle 1918-2007

I was introduced to Madeleine L'Engle in Mr. Hale's fourth grade class more than twenty years ago. I read A Wrinkle in Time, then its sequels A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. These are fantastic stories, in both the literary and evaluative senses of that word, and they are part of the great cloud of witnesses to the inexplicable which trained me up for faith in things not seen.

When I started writing fiction seriously, my Aunt Mavis gave me a copy of L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. It is a work of deepest encouragement for both the believer and the writer, a demonstration that creativity is profound evidence for the sustained image of God in humanity. I return to it often, and it reminds me that playing make believe has the power to bring me, like a little child, closer to the Kingdom of God.

It makes me sad to think she's gone, that the works we have from her are all there will be and that I'll never have the chance to speak to her face to face. I realize, however, that this is foolishness. She left more work than I could ever properly absorb, and on each of those pages she is there for me to meet, to fellowship with, and learn from. For this, I am thankful.

http://www.madeleinelengle.com/