Bouquet of Joy

On a trip to France a few years ago I discovered I had some artistic talent and a passion for art.  Shortly after I returned from that trip, a professional artist moved into my neighborhood and she began teaching art lessons in her home. I started taking weekly lessons from this amazing art teacher along with five other friends.  As a beginner, these lessons turned my world upside down and created a quest for learning how to become an oil painter.  For the last three years, I have spent considerable time (and money) learning all things concerning art.

When I was a child, the class I loved the most was art. I loved “paint by number,” and anything related to color.  I have always worn bright colors, decorated my home in reds and other vivid colors, and worn red lipstick (my mother had beautiful black hair and always wore red lipstick, that’s the back story about the lipstick). I guess the thing I love most about painting is watching beautiful color fall on canvas, so here is the story about the above painting.

A couple of years ago when I knew nothing about painting flowers, I painted an ugly bouquet of flowers that I was stupid enough to frame in a beautiful gold frame. My husband liked this painting and hung it in the bathroom, and I looked at it every day.   About two weeks ago, I was given an opportunity to display my art in a gallery in Jackson, Tennessee and discovered a lot of work preparing paintings for their destination. I took this ugly painting off the wall and placed it on the easel wondering what good could come from this ugly arrangement of color. On that night I decided it would be fun to play around with my favorite colors and see what might appear on the canvas.  What I discovered was that joyful color began to appear on the painting. I stepped into the “zone” and lost myself in the painting for about one and one-half hours, and the finished piece of art is “Joyful Bouquet.”

I was so excited about this painting I sent out a picture of it on a prayer text feed and everyone loved it. One friend loved it so much she bought it. That was amazing!  The next day I sent the picture out to a Bible study group I lead, and to my surprise another friend bought a similar one in a larger size. What is the God story behind Joyful Bouquet?

As a God lover and seeker, everything for me has a God story. Our lives are much like that awful first painting, a mess in every way—no definition, no purpose, no divine alignment, just a blob of color wandering around aimlessly on the canvas of life. Not until we come into a love relationship with Jesus, can God start making something beautiful out of our lives. He reboots us and starts over. He cleans up our messes and wipes it all away like it never existed.  In a few short moments, I totally wiped out the ugly painting and started over. When we give our lives to the Lord, He wipes our slate clean, forgives us of our mess ups, and makes all things new.

As you look at this delightful painting, let God have reign of your life and make all things new and colorful.  Let Him do a reboot and turn your life into something beautiful.

If you like this painting, I will be happy to paint one for you in whatever size works best for your home. You can contact me by responding to this post. Blessing as we all press in to discover our talents and the treasures in God’s treasure chest for each of us.