A Lesson Learned From Art Class

I made a mistake!  Oh no!  And it's too late to fix it, what should I do?

I was loving how everything was turning out on my paper.  In art class the other day we all got to play around with watercolors. The flower I was painting was slowly taking shape as I added on each layer.  An idea came to my head.  My flower needed outer petals.  I dipped my brush into the red and mixed it with some white until I had the perfect shade of pink.  Without much thought I placed my brush on the paper and painted more petals.  

Let's just say the picture I had in my head is not what happened on the paper in front of me.  I tried to make it work.  I added more paint and  then I tried to get rid of the extra paint.  Nothing worked, I messed up. 

Refusing to just push aside this piece as a mistake and try again I took out my pens and attempted to save my work.  I blended the pink colors into a background wash and added pen to make the flower stand out.  It worked! 

The painting didn't end up how I had originally planned it to turn out, but overall, I love how this piece turned out.  I couldn't resist adding a simple quote with hand lettering!

My art teacher even came over and commented on my work.  But the first words that came out of my mouth as she looked at my piece was; "This was a mistake."

She quickly told me that it was not a mistake, nothing in art is a mistake.  It may not have turned out how I wanted it to turn out, but it wasn't a mistake.  She pointed out how I was able to use my creative mind to solve the problem and still create a beautiful piece of art.  She also said if I keep trying to get the desired effect I will only get better as I practice.

Encouraged, I went on to play some more with my watercolors.  I painted more flowers and landscapes remembering to keep in mind that as I explore with art I'm not messing up or making mistakes, I'm making art.

As I reflect on the dilemma I had with my flower painting, I can't help but see a life lesson to learn from this experience.  So often in my life I find myself in situations that are similar to my messed up piece of art.   

My life is like the painting on the paper in front of me.  As each day goes by a new layer is added to the painting.   I make choices for my life each day.  I have dreams and hopes.  I have an idea in my head of what I want the painting to look like whens it's done.  

But, let's face it, things happen and my life takes an unexpected turn.  Maybe it's a season of pain, or heartbreak.  Maybe it's a prolonged season of waiting.   Hard times come and I start to wonder what happened to the beautiful picture?  It was turning out just how I wanted it to, but now...  The brush suddenly slips, the paints spill on the canvas, the beautiful painting is no longer perfect, it's messed up.  I made a mistake.

What my teacher told me about my artwork is true of my life as well.  There is no such thing as a mistake.  Maybe my life isn't turning out how I want it to turn out, but I must never allow myself to forget Who holds the brush.

God is the painter, I am a the painting.  God doesn't make mistakes.  When God has me go through hard seasons in life I can trust that He knows what He is doing.  Even if the painting looks like one big mess right now, I'll just keep trusting God.  I know that in time God will turn it into something beautiful.