By Laura Fazekas, Logic and Rhetoric Art Teacher
May 6, 2025
At Mars Hill Academy, we believe that the arts are not simply extracurricular—they are essential. They shape the affections, train the eye to see, and invite the soul to rest in truth, goodness, and beauty.
As an art teacher, two ideas have long guided my work in the classroom: first, the experience of encountering the beauty of God, and second, the calming effect that beauty has on our anxious, hurried hearts.
Theologian Jonathan Edwards once wrote that “the enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.” For him, beauty wasn’t just something pleasing to the eye—it was spiritual. It was a glimpse into the heart of God Himself. Edwards went so far as to say that to become a Christian is to become aware of God’s beauty. That awakening—what we often call conversion—is not merely about doctrine or belief; it is about the unveiling and treasuring of beauty. It’s a shift in vision, a new capacity to see what is truly glorious.
And what does that newfound vision do to a soul? It quiets it.
Isaiah 28:16 says, “Whoever believes will not be in haste.” This verse is often interpreted as a call to rest in God’s sure foundation—Christ Himself—and to be freed from frantic striving. When we see the beauty of God clearly, we no longer scramble to prove ourselves, earn our worth, or chase fleeting satisfaction. We are stilled. We are steadied.
That is one of the great gifts of art. It trains us to see—to slow down, to pay attention, to become aware of beauty, even in small or subtle things. And that is what we have tried to do in our classroom here at Mars Hill. I’m deeply thankful for a place where we can invite students into that kind of seeing—a space where they learn not only to create, but also to contemplate.
I hope you’ll come visit our school to see our students’ artwork and receive each piece as more than just a project. Let it be an invitation. An invitation to behold beauty. And in that beholding, I pray you’ll experience something of what our students have been learning: that the beauty of God really does quiet the soul—and that in a world so often marked by noise, hurry, and striving, there is something here that offers peace.