I remember when my oldest son was in first grade. In a parent-teacher meeting, the teacher criticized him for coloring outside of the lines and for not coloring in the same direction. As a new mother, I sat there in shock and never said a word. As an artist, I never colored inside the lines. In fact, the more creative and colorful the better. However, I felt that he should try to please his teacher so I decided to work with him on the skill of coloring. You can imagine how this lesson ended. He tried to please me but he just couldn’t do it.
I have always been creative and innovative. When I hear people say, “that won’t work” or “we can’t do that” it makes me want to work hard to overcome the negativity. Over time these words are discouraging to a creative person.
People who color outside of the lines are trailblazers who see things differently. Success begins with getting out of your comfort zone and yes sometimes coloring outside of the lines.
Exodus 35:31-32 says, “And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze.”
God makes each one of us special. We don’t have to be like everyone else for God to love us. He already loves us just the way we are. So, go ahead and color outside of the lines.
I remember when my boys were little, and I secretly wished they would stay little. However, they are taller than me now and all grown up. Time literally flew by!
It is inevitable that our kids will grow up!
We are God’s children and He wants us to grow up. God wants us to grow up spiritually. You might be wondering what does growing up spiritually mean? I attend church every Sunday. I am in a life group. I listen to my worship music every day. But growing spiritually is more than attending church for ninety minutes on a Sunday morning. It is more than checking off a box on my to-do list.
It is making time in our day to worship, pray, study, and meditate on God and His Word. If we do these things, we will draw closer to God. Putting aside our pride and going to Jesus with a thankful heart will open the channels of conversation. Obedience can be hard! But when we obey God, we position ourselves to His leading.
I want this for my life! What about you?
I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. I love spending time with my family.
As we move into the New Year, what are you thinking about? Are you worried about 2020? I was listening to a podcast today by Priscilla Shirer and she was talking about seasons in our life. We spend our life rushing around and preparing for what’s to come not stopping to enjoy the season that we are in right now. We continue to look for the next thing.
I love the story about Mary and Martha. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman names Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary who say at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all of the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Marth, Marth,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42
I don’t know about you, but I want to be more like Mary in 2020. I don’t want to be distracted by the things in life.
I believe that God wants us to enjoy the moment. Choose to be content and look to Jesus!
