Of Parenting and Painting(s)

[Apolojedi (Daniel Eaton)]

I had a clear moment and was thinking last night about Father's Day. Parenthood reminds me of being a painter. Let me explain with a bit of a tangent. Since I can't read much any more, I enjoy audio books. One of the factors I consider in selecting the book is the length of it. I want to get the most for my money as long as it is a topic/genre I enjoy. Same thing for movies. While I don't go out to see them any more, if I am looking at two movies On Demand from my cable provider, I generally tend to pick the longer of the two if they are both at the same price. I know someone that used to pick art the same way. A painting with more paint on the canvass seemed to be a better deal to them. Funny, but true. But parenthood is like that. The amount of parenting you do often reflects the quality of the outcome. And there is something else in common as well. No one tends to see the flaws in their work more than the artist. When I look at how my painting, my child, has turned out, I tend to wish that certain parts of it were bolder or more subtle or didn't come out anywhere like what I wanted. I tend to be critical of it....not of the painting, but of my skills. Makes me wish I could go back and do it over or revert back to that time before I had kids and knew all there was to know about parenting.

Ultimately, this painting analogy can be extended further though. God, as our "Parent", is the ultimate painter. He sees the full picture. We, as elements of His painting, only see a very small part of it. We are often jealous of the pigments used around us. That small view is our perspective. But God sees the overall plan and works it out to His good. We may not see it now. We may not understand it, but I have faith in the Painter. I've seen His other creations. The finished product is going to be awesome!

Another thought along this came to mind. I first thought of it back when I was just a couple of months into my disability and was still months away from a diagnosis. I literally had no idea what was wrong or if it was going to kill me. This may sound weird, but bear with me. I don't just want to be paint on His canvass. I want to be a paintbrush in The Painter's hand. Have you ever left a paintbrush with paint in it? Once the paint dries, you may as well throw the thing away. It is as useless as some people I know. But if you ever watch those painting shows on TV, the artist is constantly cleaning his brush and keeping the bristles soft and pliable. Sometimes this requires him to beat the bristles back and forth on something to get all the paint and thinner out of it. It is only the bristles that are soft enough to be guided by the Painter's hand that are worth anything. They can't impact the picture unless they are able to be guided. I can't see the whole picture. And I won't let that uncertainty cause me fear. I have faith in the Artist. My prayer is that God uses what I am going through to "color" those around me and cause them to think of Him. I don't know how this will all end, but consider this a Wet Paint zone. We are like (or should be like) a web site that has one of those "Under Construction" banners.

[Jason]

Very good thoughts.