The Paint Isn’t Wasted

If you were to see my art studio, one of the first things you would notice is the collection of old-school, wooden paint palettes I have hanging on the wall. They have layers of dried paint and have become works of art themselves. I love to use them until they become too heavy with paint to hold easily. That wall is one thing I wish I could show my younger self, the young girl who was always creative but didn’t know that art was going to be the route she would take as a career.

When we are growing up or going through something difficult, we can sometimes lose the vision of the finished piece. We can sometimes miss how God is working within the creation of that piece of art. When I look at the palettes on the wall, I realize that every dab of paint had its purpose in a much bigger project. Not a drop of it went to waste.

God blessed me with a talent to worship him through artistic creation, and now I have tangible reminders of the process. I wish my younger self had a paint palette to look upon to remind her that she was where she was for a purpose. I wish she had known that one day, she would be staring at a wall of paint palettes and that her daughter and her son would be gazing at the same wall.

I can’t go back and show her these things, but I can still tell her these things in my heart. I want her to know that there was no brushstroke wasted in her life. Even in the seasons when she couldn’t feel God, he was creating the bigger masterpiece.

When in your life have you felt as if you were wasting your plans and purpose? Reflect on how God came through and made a masterpiece within your story.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving my life purpose and meaning in every season. Please help me to see your work in my life. Amen.