A gold fish with green eyes and blue gills – an elementary school creation, a little bookmark with “Jesus Lovs Yoo Mommy” scribbled in purple crayon – a Sunday School project for Mother’s Day several years ago, a caterpillar made from an egg carton with pipe cleaner feelers – a rainy Saturday afternoon project: each one a precious masterpiece tucked away in a special container in the attic. I had to admire the treasures as I added more pieces to this priceless collection.
There aren’t many pieces to add these days. Daniel has reached the “perfection or nothing” stage in his childhood. Coloring outside the lines is no longer acceptable. In fact, crayons are a thing of the past. Now, it’s studio art and photography classes for my high school artist. When I asked to see what his latest photography creation looked like, his response was “I deleted it Mom. It looked terrible! I could never have used that!” Personally, I believe it would have been perfect – perhaps not for a class project, but it would most certainly have been a wonderful addition to my exclusive gallery.
I realize that my own creations in life have changed as well. Once long ago when I was a child in Christ, I offered everything I did to the Lord, imperfections and all. As long as I was doing it for the Lord and could present it to Him in love, I would put my all into it with pride. Now, despite the gentle nudging from my Savior and God to keep on creating, I find myself saying “Sorry, Father. It would be terrible! I could never use that! It isn’t perfect.”
God reminds me that He doesn’t expect my perfection. He expects my offering. When I sit down to create something – anything – as long as it’s for Him and through Him, it’s exactly what He’s looking for.
Just as I would love for Daniel to continue to offer me his projects, despite his feelings of inadequacy, our Father wants us to offer our projects – our lives – to Him. Whatever we do for our Lord, in His eyes, it’s a great masterpiece. Even if in the world’s eyes, it’s a crayon drawing.
