This is part of a 7-day commitment during Lent 2024.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14
What should I write today? “Come to Me little children,” the words floated into my mind. I shall write later, I had planned to do some painting first after my devotional time.
The time ended with this verse from Proverbs 30:17 about people dishonouring their parents. As I read, the word “Generations” and the image of roots became the basis of my painting.
The eye that mocks his father,
Proverbs 30:17
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.
Stage 1: The Roots and Branches (Fear/Worry)
I painted and felt satisfied with it. I think this is good enough. I didn’t want to continue painting, for fear of making it ugly. Looking back at the painting process, it has progressed in stages, like a child or a church growing. Similarly, we might worry whether we can carry out the stewardship God has given us well – the child’s life or the church’s growth. We fear that we will not do this well.
But we have to trust God to give us grace and wisdom and keep going.
Stage 2: The Leaves (Imperfections)
Moreover, being an amateur painter, I didn’t know how my brush strokes would turn out in the painting. I just trial and error and hope it will turn out beautiful. Sometimes, I blundered, having darker colours at the wrong places, or brushstrokes that were too thick or in the wrong way. I couldn’t undo it like on a computer.
But I saw beauty in imperfections. And sometimes, a mistake could be a beauty in disguise. I was reminded of the ‘Money No Enough’ documentary. The movie’s limited budget allowed only for a noisy camera, which helped them to garner this review on Variety, “The deliberate use of background noise to color the dialogue… hint at a greater intelligence behind the production than appears on the surface.”
All things work out for the good.
Stage 3: The Sky (Uncertainty)
Deploying a watercolour technique, I used plastic wrap to create crumpled patterns in the blue sky. With this article as a refresher for this technique, certain sentences struck me, “the joy of this technique is that you never really know what you are going to get.” and “Now this is the hard part. Walk away, and don’t peek. To achieve an effect, you need to let the paint dry completely under the cling film. Every time you touch or dislodge the plastic you reduce the impact of this fun watercolor technique.”
In the technique, you manipulate the cling wrap when the paint is wet. After that, you need to let it dry on its own. When the children are young, we try our best to mould them. After that, we need to let go when the children are old enough (especially in adulthood).
And like in parenting or building a church, you never really know how they will turn out in the end. You have to trust your child or the church, and ultimately trust God in the process. The texture of my sky isn’t crumpled as I had wanted it to be, but I trust this is how God wants the painting to be.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)
Worried you can’t do well? Or are you upset or guilty about your blunders? Or find it hard to let go? Remember we are partnering with God in this journey. Ultimately He is the potter and He decides how He wants to mould the clay.
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