Her little brother is visiting his Mimi for the week and my 4 year old jumps at the opportunity for a rare uninterrupted moment to paint.
Hunched over the 1970s era leaf table with a wide swath of drawing paper taped down, her paint brushes littered among the homemade sticky paints, she diligently creates her work of art.
To me, it looks like a big sticky jumbled mess. Colors are everywhere; paint is on her hands, the table, the floor, her hair…and a bit on the paper.
I know better than to ask “What is it?” and instead say, “Tell me about it, doodle.” {Doodle has been her nickname since the beginning. My little artist.}
“It’s a rainbow mommy. You know, like God’s promises.”
Indeed it is.
Her sweet voice and messy art reminds this weary soul of the truth of God’s work in our lives.
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)
He is the promise maker and the promise keeper. He takes our broken pieces, our messy, and turns it into a masterpiece used for His glory.
Although we may not see the rainbow in the messy art, it’s not our job to see the full picture. The Bible tells us we can’t see the scope of God’s work, its fullness.
Instead, it’s our job to trust the artist and walk with Him one day at a time. And He will reveal the rainbow, the beauty in our mess, as we say “yes” to Him.
*This post is part of Lisa-Jo Baker’s 5 Minute Friday series, where she empowers bloggers to write for 5 minutes each Friday on a specific topic. Free writing. Writing just for the sheer joy of it. Today’s topic was “Paint.” Also sharing with Essential Fridays, Fridays Unfolded, The Weekend Brew, Recommendation Saturday, Sacred Speco, Beauty Observed, and Sunday Stillness.
Also…while we’re on the topic of saying “yes”…
I just started reading the new book by Kristen Welch, Rhinestone Jesus: Saying Yes to God When Sparkly, Safe Faith is No Longer Enough. It’s a pre-release review copy and the book launches May 1 (although you might can find it in stores sooner & pre-order on Amazon). I started crying in the Introduction ya’ll, so I know this one’s a good one that will challenge me in ways I need it. Can’t wait to share more about it with you once I finish! In the meantime, a whole tribe of people are sharing how they’re saying “yes” to God in the middle of their mess – check it out on Twitter.
