Red...pink..no darker red..changes...

It just happened to be one of THOSE days.  Things didn't go as anticipated and something inside just felt off a good portion of the day.  
It all began with my "normal" routine at home.  I got up, got dressed, prepped lunches for everyone, ate breakfast, took my youngest to orchestra, walked the dog, etc. and then I loaded the car and headed to Henderson to begin week 2 of the Some Bigger None Better mural.  I pulled in to town just a bit before 11 am, which is later than I wished, but due to cold temps this morning, I would not have been able to work anyway.  I prepped everything and took it over to the wall and started painting.  As I began, I wrestled internally.  Not over anything in particular, but I was unsettled.  The first two tones of red went on just fine through the nerves or whatever was going on inside.  Then things started to unravel.  I mixed up some paint ... Pepto pink - maybe a shade darker and started painting even though I wasn't sold on the color.  I kept feeling a push to stop painting that color and change it, but that would take more time and I thought it'd be ok so I painted a little more.  The feeling got stronger -- wrong color... it needs to change.  This happened a couple of times and finally I heeded, mixed a new color, which I was way happier with, and proceeded to change the color.  Changing a color requires waiting for the paint to dry, painting gesso (or primer) over the color, waiting for that to dry and THEN paint on the color desired.  So as I waited, I worked on the rest of the red and was able to finish it and somewhere in there God settled my heart.  The challenges of the day kept coming, but my focus was different.  

It is interesting how the journey of making a change on the mural paralleled the transformation process of my focus.  There were moments of revelation that something needed to be different.  The waiting for paint to dry was like waiting for the calm to come. Then there were times of listening to discover what adjustments to make. And more waiting -- waiting for the shift in my focus -- waiting and trusting for God to do His thing.  And finally, a transition and resolution to my attitude and to the work.   

The challenges continued the rest of the day and finally at 7 pm I decided it was time to walk away for the night.  My goal today was to get some of the black lines started and ultimately have a solid idea of how the lines would go on and what they would look like. I did reach that goal despite the hiccups I encountered and I chuckle at that and wonder why the tense, internal twisting of the morning.  Maybe just so I could learn, through experience and metaphor, what is said in Romans 12:2 ...but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing, and perfect. (NLT version) 

Oh and by the way:  that  just so happened to be the verse I began my day with this morning.

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The left side has a little black line work -- a good start for the week.