Hello my sisters and brothers in Christ!
I pray you and yours are doing well. I am doing wonderful, thanks be to God. Yesterday evening, I did a paintnite with wine activity with a friend. It was my first time doing something like this; I was excited but did not know what to expect. I have not really been the artistic type when it comes to hands-on art like drawing or designing, however, I was excited to try something new. Like folks usually say, art should be fun; but the engineer in me always seeks for perfection. At the end of the evening, I was actually proud of my creation. On my way home while reflecting on our time at the activity, my friend asked me what I thought of it. I told him it was fun and then he teased me about how I was getting agitated during the process when my creation did not look like others', which made me feel like I was doing it wrong. I told him that that actually is an example of how certain things in my life are, in which God is still working on me.
With my hasty character, I am sometimes in a rush to get to the end result and completely neglect the process of getting that result. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Life is a journey, not a destination." From the moment I arrived at that restaurant yesterday, I was so focused on the creation I will have and that affected my attitude towards actually doing the painting. When we started and I realized my art looked different from my friend's and others in the room, I started getting agitated. My friend teased me when I was having my moments but he encouraged me and kept stressing to have fun. Society usually stresses keeping one's eyes on the prize but neglects to emphasize on the importance of that journey towards the prize. For example, women and men usually desire a godly spouse with a marriage that'll glorify God and last a lifetime; but in order to have that, one must wait on God's perfect time to work on them and that future spouse, as well as give them wisdom on how to be a wife or husband to that person. That season of singleness is very important in building up one's character. Soaking in every moment and appreciating seasons of my life has always been something I have struggled with, but I am finally allowing God to work in me to change that.
A scripture that God recently laid on my heart to meditate on is Isaiah 55:8-9 in which He says
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. This is a reminder for me that my life is not my own but God's and I need to be in complete submission to what God is doing. An example of when I was so focused on the destination rather than the journey was when I was in college. As I look back now, I see why God made me graduate later than I wanted to. By graduating years later, I was able to have a co-op internship in South Carolina whereby I learned independence, strong work ethic, and career development. Additionally, I learned to soak in special moments and build relationships in those last two years in college.
Something I must mention is that this was not my friend's first time doing something like this, whereby this was my first. Therefore he came to this activity with experience and I did not. He kept telling me that I should not be too hard on myself and that his painting was not stellar the first time, practice makes perfect, and to just have fun with it. I'm saying this to say that one's level of experience can also affect their performance. So there is no need to compare oneself with others because you don't know the background of others and how much or little experience they may have.
In the middle of this painting activity, when I finally relaxed and came to acceptance of what my art looked like, I started having fun. I was more relaxed, not caring how straight my bridge support is or size of trusses are or how steep and tall my bridge is. I started to enjoy the journey and not only focused on the destination. By the end of the activity, my friend and me had laughed at flaws of our paintings and actually enjoyed the whole process of being there.
In conclusion, I learned the importance of patience and perseverance. Patience in terms of soaking in every moment in life and enjoying the process, and perseverance to continue even if detours or mistakes happen during the journey. This evening was supposed to be a time to try something different and enjoy my friend's company, so I'm happy that I came to realize that before it was over. In the end, I was very proud of myself and my creation from the activity. Once again God uses an unconventional way to teach me a valuable lesson in life. Thank you, Lord!
Restored woman living for God's Glory,
Ruby B. Johnson.
Have you given your heart to God? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior? If you die today, will you make it to Heaven? If no or you are unsure, do not waste any more time and receive salvation now.
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