Charles E. Burchfield, Journals May 26, 1936

P.M. Take M.A. and Marie to Elma for catechism instruction. In the meantime I to little grove at end of Jamison road. The land slopes gently down to the west from this place, giving a feeling of great vastness. Read from time to time in a book on Christ, loaned to me by Rev. Neeb, interspersing it with looking at the landscape. As I read, I felt after all there was something to the miraculous character of Christ’s life; could I believe it? Then I tried thinking, if I believed that how would it affect my relation to the natural world. I observed the wind-blown young wheat, a crow a two, the warm reddish plowed fields, the wide sky; a stray butterfly - they never seemed so good - well perhaps more beautiful. Another experiment I tried- supposing I accepted the idea of sin-atonement and all the supernatural elements of the Christian religion, how would a freight-car look to me. I had to admit, that it seemed as if the freight-car would be just as interesting.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, May 26, 1936