What are you painting today?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I have always agreed with the phrase. But I think there are even more layers to the story. Because as human beings, we do not simply see a picture, we experience it. And even still, what we experience or feel from that very same scene can change over time. You may shed tears when you once laughed at that photo of your loved one. For better or worse, the way in which we view our world and mankind usually changes over time.

Well, please allow me congratulate you because you are quite the artist. You've been creating scenes your entire life...likely the first group of scenes were sloppy finger painting smiley faces with stick figures developing some time later. But now you are really getting the hang of this. You are quite the manipulator of color and brush strokes.

What is that you are working on now? Are you willing to share your painting?

They say a thousand words are born into creation as you flick your wrist and pat the canvas. Have you noticed the scenes accumulating? Can you feel the millions of words coming together, marrying to form this unique story that is all your own? Is your picture simultaneously frustrating and wondrous?

No doubt it's a bit of work to make something meaningful, to make it come alive. Despite your control over the direction of the painting, are you seeing how it comes alive in ways you didn't anticipate? You didn't expect both joy and sorrow in your impasto. Or the smile and sarcastic frown in the same expression of a character. Somehow your struggles are embedded within your greatest triumphs. And in this image, your heartaches rest in the Lord's promises and your sorrows are surrendered to the overpowering love of God. While the edges are rough, blessings become the most discernible trait. The truths you compose are crafted from the Word of God and filtered through the muddled nature of your life. And it is breathtakingly beautiful.

I pray that it does not always feel like work. I pray that as long as you breath, you will continue to paint and be inspired. I pray that your heart is faithful to the task, despite the knowledge that you will not see the big picture, the mosaic created from all of your singular images, for at least a little while longer.  I pray that you can be faithful, knowing that all of your scenes, lovingly mastered into one, is not a one-man job. I pray that you can let yourself go as you express who you are to the world. And I pray that your final image is one directed by God.

Take heart in knowing that your story is not limited by the type of paintbrush you have, or the breath of colors which were afforded to you from the beginning. You know that you may mix colors to create a whole new palette. You may use your brush any way you choose. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But all the more amazing is the Word of God, because it is worth all the scenes of your life, the history of the universe, and the future of mankind.

Paint on you artist.