Coloring Outside the Lines

The Lord is amazing. You pray and ask and he answers. duh! you say. Yes, but the way he answers... you just have to love him. I think my prayer went something like this, "Oh, Lord, I can't believe my mouth. I'm putting my foot in it. I hurt people with it. I speak without thinking first. I hate this! Is there ANY hope for me!"

You know how he answered this? He answered, "I can help!" and this is how he did. (Not immediately, of course... he lets me go on with the knowledge of how much I need divine help.)

One day, in quiet time, eyes shut...he plays a video for me. A little girl was sitting on a step outdoors and she was coloring. She was about 7 or 8. I walked up and looked over her shoulder and saw that she was coloring outside the lines.. much like a 3 year old would do though she was much older. My thought, "she is old enough to know to color inside the lines." Then the little girl looked up at me, extended her arm with crayon in hand, and I became filled with color...first my face, then my body... all inside my lines. Then, this little girl stepped into me and became one with me."

Now that was one vivid vision and in living crayon color. I shall not forget it. And the meaning, you ask. Simple: Though I should know better, I color outside the lines. The Lord wants me to color inside the lines. The little girl is me."

How does this help? Well, I now hear my Lord, in the midst of situations, in the midst of "I want to say this....", he softly speaks to me and says, "that would be outside the lines."

Oh! So easy to obey a voice like that when you totally understand. He is one precious God!

I'm being trained for coloring respectfully - inside the lines!

Amen.