Embracing Diversity as a Family Blog #2: Preface – Why Paisley?

The actual subtitle to this book’s Preface section is: “Wanted – Visionary Families Seeking to Live Their Best Life Under God’s Loving Authority”. But people who admire the beautiful book cover want to know what motivated the design. Well, here is an excerpt from the section that explains it:

Some have described the United States of America as a “melting pot”: a heated, hearty mixture of many ingredients that lose their individual flavor to become one overall taste. Others have described her as a “salad”: a diverse mix of different ingredients that each retain their own essence yet yield to layers of combined flavors.

I prefer to think of our great nation and larger world as a “paisley” pattern: a mixture of beautiful shapes and colors, unified against a common background. Beautifully draped as fabric on furniture and in apparel, or applied as paper on various surfaces, paisley transforms the otherwise dull forms underneath it into something glorious for us all to touch, see, experience, and appreciate every day. Paisley designs originated in Asia, were further developed in Europe, and now are enjoyed throughout the world.

My late husband, Cary, an architect, cowboy, farmer, and industrial designer of Scottish descent, was enamored with paisley. I, too, have always loved paisley patterns in clothing and on surface finishes. Before I retired from my career as a commercial interior designer, I would often select a paisley motif fabric or wallpaper for the building interiors I helped create.

Paisley designs have a deep, rich meaning to me, and they certainly express the intricate design that God created when He formed my family through marriage, birth, and adoption. Many shapes, many colors, but one unified background, which God calls “beautiful”. And I do, too.
[Section continues in the book.]

Here is the Amazon link for Embracing Diversity as a Family: Preparing the Next Generation to Flourish.