No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.
Unscripted. Unedited. Real.
It started because I’d (Lisa Jo Baker) been thinking about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And I figured, why not take 5 minutes and see what comes out: not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing.
So now on Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write without worrying if it’s just right gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes.
Go...
"We can paint today?"
It's usually more of a statement than a question...like who am I to possibly tell her "no" when she wants to paint. I'm not sure why it's more intriguing than crayons...which I'd prefer any hour of the day...but it is.
It doesn't even matter what kind - finger painting, sponge painting, string painting, water painting (a personal favorite), paint brush painting...and I'm sure we'll have more to add to the list before too long.
She listens for a little while - about the importance of washing the brush/sponge/finger off before dipping it into another color...but eventually toddlerhood wins out. It's just more fun to have paint everywhere and see all of her favorite colors on the brush at the same time.
At first I grimaced when this would happen...and then firmly removed the painting object from her hand to clean it up...after a few times of doing this, me & my type A personality just had to let go of it. There was so much joy and freedom that came out through her laugh and her eyes when I simply allowed her to have fun with it - to just be a painter.
The thing is, her masterpieces turn out quite beautifully and the fun we had making the mess is totally worth it. It's quite amazing what you can learn from being messy like how combining colors makes a new color...makes me wonder what I miss out on learning, for fear of it being too messy...
Joy is found in the ordinary things.
Joy is found in the messiness of life.
Joy can even be found in paint.
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Posts
"Makes me wonder what I miss out on learning, for fear of it being too messy..." Yes! I am a type-A-challenged-by-messes mama too, and yet the years have mellowed me. And your words make me wonder...what more could I allow God to do in me if I embraced the mess of the process through which He'd bring it to be? Thank you for your words...xo
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Stopping by from FMF. I worry what I'll miss or have missed because I fear the mess. Those moments with our children are irreplaceable, thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteJoy is found in the messiness of life! I should be the happiest woman alive! Thanks for the reminder and the beautiful snapshot of enjoying the mess through paint.
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