This week, I received a message that captures so much of what many of us think and feel:
Maeghan writes:
“I have a coloring book, and thought I would get started trying to do this as a form of relaxation during my work day. I’m a business office and I have a staff of 11. I’m always bouncing to keep things afloat.
I sat down one day this week to take a break, and couldn’t bring myself to color because I WAS AFRAID OF MAKING A MISTAKE.
What is wrong with me?
It’s JUST A COLORING PAGE!
Frustrated that I can’t even relax to do something that I used to love.”
Oh sweet, Maeghan, nothing is wrong with you. You’re just more honest and brave than the rest of us.
Most of us live with an underlying fear of “making a mistake” which is just a fancy way of saying we struggle with fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of not being or doing enough.
The gift of the adult coloring books like, Live Loved, is that this is a safe space for you to face your fears as you awaken to just how much you’re loved by God.
The Scriptures in Live Loved speak to God’s great adoration for you… just as you are…
Some of my favorites include:
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God and so we are.” —1 John 3:1
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” —Jeremiah 31:3
Yes, it’s a play on words, but God has “drawn you with unfailing kindness” that as you move forward and create you radiate His kindness toward yourself and others.
Ira Glass, host of This American Life, made a wise observation regarding the creative process:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap.
For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal… And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
(handlettering & photo from @alimakesthings on Instagram)
So I double dog dare you to pick back up those pencils and crayons and color outside the lines. Laugh. Play. Invite a friend. Or a child. Allow yourself to move beyond your fears and Live Loved.
Live Loved: An Adult Coloring Book can be ordered in time for Christmas at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, LifeWay, Family Christian Bookstore, and more.
Your turn: What advice do you have for Maeghan?
Ohmygoodness! That you for putting into words what I’ve struggled to figure out! DITTO Maeghan on everything. I will pray for us to find this time of relaxation and meditation FUN again and that we color, scribble, zig-zag, polka-dot, or whatever we find enjoyable outside the lines. ?
ttfn,
L.
Your dilemma reminds me of native artisans from somewhere who always include mistakes in their work to remind themselves and everyone else that only God is perfect. Maybe if we go ahead and make a “mistake” early on in our coloring session, we won’t worry that we MIGHT make one!! Maybe carry a design out and around the one provided and do it on purpose letting your mind and spirit flow free. Then, of course, you can always make a balancing “mistake” somewhere else on the design to make the original one look intentional, but that would be dishonest. On the other hand, your mistake may be the beginning of an enhancement! Blessings on your enjoyment of color and the coloring process. It’s ALL a gift! We must be thankful we can SEE and move the pencils over the paper. What a bouquet of sensory blessings!
I too have several coloring books. I have ordered your newest one. HOWEVER, I never slow down enough to have time to color! This particular week, I hadn’t noticed that I went to sleep at night w/o praying. Too tired. Hope I can slow down a little to enjoy the upcoming holiday season, and take comfort in knowing that whatever I do, it IS good enough.