No, my God's not done
Making me a masterpiece
He's still working on me
He started something good
And I'm gonna believe it
He started something good
And He's gonna complete it
So I'll celebrate the truth
His work in me ain't through
I'm just unfinished
- Mandisa "Unfinished"
Ever done one of those wine and design classes? My husband and I actually did one to celebrate Valentine's Day this year and created two canvases that together created one picture. I had done a few of these sorts of events in the past and there are a few things that all the facilitators say each time. When I heard the lyrics to this song this morning, I was reminded of their guidance in creating a good looking painting (a "masterpiece" if you will) and thought I'd share as an encouragement to you.
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| Before we started |
1. "Your final product doesn't need to look like mine. It's meant to be a guide and I can help you along the way."
Now if you think of yourself as the painter in this scenario, you have a guide! The guide is there with a lot of solutions to the problems you encounter and ready to help as soon as you ask. You need more paint - she's on it! You need to change the darkness of the sky - she's ready to help you mix the perfect hue! You need only ask.
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| making progress on the two canvas picture |
2. "The best thing about this paint on the canvas is that you can correct and make changes as soon as the paint dries. A canvas is very forgiving"
This is very important since people who attend these events are usually not skilled artisans and they've paid for an evening where they want to create something of beauty. Think of yourself as the painting in this scenario. There aren't really mistakes in the traditional sense. Each time a brush stroke went where the painter didn't want it - a little patience and the blemish is turned into a thing of beauty. There wasn't just one way to get to the final product. The painters (in this case, my husband and I) could add some layers of paint and it actually enhanced the overall product.
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| Proud of our Valentine's Day masterpiece |
3. "Sometimes you need to step back and look at the whole thing in order to know what to do next."
What wise life lessons learned in a painting class! Reflecting on what's been done teaches us what to do next. If I focus too much on the tree branch being straight, it may end up looking more like a log because I didn't take time to step back and see what impact those small strokes had to the entire picture. And in the case of a two canvas painting - we really needed this reflection in order to help the painting flow together (there's a marriage lesson in that I'm sure!).
How much more exciting is it to think of ourselves as unfinished masterpieces of the creator of the world! We are unfinished on our journey in this earth and for that I am glad!
