It is with a great deal of humility and pride that I post the achievements of this remarkable young man. I first "experienced" Eliot when his dad and I remarried after an eleven year separation. Eliot was barely 8 years old. He had a tremendous amount of energy and kept me on my toes just keeping up with him. I remember watching him with his dad on many occasions and was smitten with his charm and devotion to his father. I wrote the following on one of those occasions:
One Small Boy
If Jesus is mindful of every drop of rain that falls,
Every grain of sand on the seashore,
And every little bird that falls out of the nest,
Then surely he is mindful of one small boy.
One tow-headed, blue-eyed innocent child
Who can capture your heart with his little boy hugs.
One look at that face and I know he is loved--
Not only by me, but by his Savior as well.
God, watch over this precious, innocent child
Who has captured my heart
And brought his little bit of sunshine
Into its windows.
Eliot has been spending the past four years at Adam's State College in Alamosa, Colorado, where he is concentrating on his studies to graduate May 12th with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Composition. This past April 14th, he held his Senior Composition Recital. His father (who is gifted in music), his mother, Laurie Hill Phelps (an artist in her own right), and his brother, Billy (also a musician) were all in attendance. I was not able to attend.
Eliot's entire program consisted of the music he has composed over the past four years. Dean reported that it was a phenomenal concert. He brought the program home with him for me to peruse. As I was reading through the accomplishments and his written explanation of how each came about, my eye caught one piece, in particular. It is called, "The Road." In Eliot's words: "'The Road' was written specifically with one person in mind. (He mentioned another artist, Madison Cawein, who wrote the poem, 'Lonely Road' and compared the poem to) "the road that this man wanders every day. He is a vagabond with a mission that is seemingly guided by the stars. Above all, this man has helped me to pursue a unique nuance in all things, especially the desperate ones."
I was moved to tears as I read those words, because I knew exactly who "this man" was. I am his mother! And Eliot is his brother. What a joy it was to read of the tremendous influence Billy has had on his little brother. These are treasured words from brother to brother.
These are the participants who performed the choral music.
I was just recovering from the emotional feelings of the depth of this boy, when we received the news just this morning that Eliot is graduating Summa Cum Laude, which is the highest honor a college student can achieve on graduation. It puts him in the top 5% of his class. Needless to say, we are totally blown away with this latest achievement.
Yes, that little tow-headed boy who came into my life 14 years ago, certainly has walked a path that has been watched over by the special mercies of a loving God. He still continues to bring sunshine into the windows of my heart!
A wonderful picture of Eliot with his mom, Laurie
Eliot and his dad, making rosettes for the Concert
