Aug. 28, 2024 “Not interested,” I said. “I don’t do visual arts. Not even something like that.” I told one of my best friends that after she suggested I try something she enjoyed to keep busy at night and calm a little anxiety I was feeling. She suggested I try an adult coloring book. I’m not good at painting, drawing, coloring… In fact, I think it’s fair to say I’m awful. I don’t enjoy doing things if I can’t do them well, so I just avoid anything remotely resembling a visual art. And, to be honest, it felt a bit childish to me. Then, one day a couple weeks ago, I was walking the aisles of a major retailer on a day when I was feeling particularly anxious about some stuff I had coming up in my life, and I saw an adult coloring book that was themed around Scripture and quotes about faith. I knew I was likely to continue experiencing the anxiety until the cause of it was concluded, so I set my reservations aside and bought the coloring book and some colored pencils. The first page I colored, I tried to have an open mind, and I tried to remind myself that mistakes didn’t matter. No one else would see my pages. I wasn’t doing it for someone else; I was doing it for me. Every time I moved to a new section to color, I’d repeat the Scripture line from the page – “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” – and sort of meditate on it as I worked. It became as much about the Scripture as the coloring, and it really helped calm my anxiety and focus on God’s grace. I’ve colored on only a few pages, but I’m glad I have that coloring book on my desk if I need or want to calm myself and spend time with the word of God. I believe God urged me, through the urgings of my friend and the random impulse to buy a coloring book, to find this way to find Him and His peace. And God reminded me yet again that I don’t always know what’s good for me, but He knows me better than I know myself. So, I guess I’m interested in coloring. |
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