Daily Devotion | August 26, 2021

Painting

by Pastor Marty Tollefson

I spent two days last week painting bedrooms for Hannah and Sarah. It had been several years since I picked up a paintbrush. The first day went incredibly well! Usually, I spend a considerable amount of time taping the edges and baseboards. I decided, however, to forego this process and try my luck. My hand was steady, the edges were clean and straight, and I had no paint on my clothes. This was, in my years of painting, my best work. It was almost perfect!

There was evening, there was morning, day 2.

I got an early start. I didn’t do any taping this morning either. I was soooo beyond taping at this point in my painting career. Something, however, was different on this day. My hand was not steady. The edges were not straight and clean. Unfortunately, there were times where it seemed that I was painting the baseboards, as well. I got paint in my hair, on my clothes, and at some point, I apparently sat in a puddle of paint. Moreover, this room took three coats of paint. The room was not perfect, but it was done, I was done.

Painting.

We can paint life with bright, beautiful colors. Moreover, we can bring so much color and joy and transformation into someone’s life. If painting a room, a different color can bring joy and delight and genuine excitement to a ten-year-old, just think, of the bright, bold, and beautiful colors that we can bring into someone’s life. We can do this. We can add color. We can help create a new context, a new beginning with a fresh coat of paint. We can help tease out some imaginative wanderings as they find themselves in a new space. Life can look different; a new beginning can be felt. We can do this!

Some days it will come easily, but other days, it will be more difficult. Our painting will not be perfect. In fact, it might be rather messy. Drips, spills, splattering, and painting outside of the boundaries of life are all part of the process. Be ready! Some situations will call for a fresh coat of paint, while others, might require three coats. Don’t give up! Some days we wonder if we should have a paintbrush in our hand. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up. Don’t stop painting your life and bringing color into the lives of others.

Jesus painted. He encountered people who needed a fresh coat of paint and said to them, “Your sins are forgiven.” He encountered people at the margins, beyond the societal boundaries. He, with his brushstrokes of grace, painted a new life for them. He, with a paintbrush in hand, painted with bold, dazzling colors of love, grace, and hope. He painted a new heaven and a new earth upon the walls of their life, upon our life. He once said, “In my house are many rooms….” One day we will see the dazzling colors of those rooms.

Until that day, we are invited to live, to live with a paintbrush in hand!

-- Pastor Marty

 

 

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