What a Beautiful Picture

Artwork by Phyllis F. Ducey of pfd Original Artworks

Imagine that you are the artist of a beautiful painting.

Close your eyes as you picture the paintbrush in your hands as you glide the paint covered bristles over the canvas.

Picture in your mind the masterpiece that lays before you. Throw out any thoughts that may try to persuade you that you can't paint, we are imagining here.

Now imagine someone comes up to you and your beautiful painting. You are standing there in awe at the creation before you and this stranger comes to you, looks at your painting and says, "Wow, that is ugly!"

What!! You have poured your heart into this creation; you have cried over the beauty that came out of you; you are in complete and utter love with your creation and so very proud of its beauty and yet someone has told you that it is ugly. They have stepped on your beautiful creation.

Now, once again, imagine God, our precious Father, standing before his most beautiful creation, mankind. Imagine God, Abba Father, standing before you, his beautiful masterpiece. He is remembering when you were in the womb. He can see the paintbrush of creation in His hand as it swayed back and forth forming your every limb. He can remember the hidden details he weaved into His artwork, the details of a beautiful voice, artistic talent, dance, sewing, sports, etch. He remembers how He gave each of those special details to you. He can vividly remember the stroke that gave you the talent of painting yourself, and He says to you, "This talent is yours, I gave it to you. When a student learns something new from their teacher, that knowledge becomes theirs."

God is standing in front of you now admiring His beautiful masterpiece. He is in awe at what you are able to do with what He has given you. He loves every detail that makes up His original plan for you. If you dance, than He is dancing with you, amazed at the love that pours from your body and can't help but ask, "Who taught you to dance this good?" If you draw, He is watching each pen stroke and saying, "Wow, how did you learn how to do that?" Why though? Why would God, the Creator and author of all things, be asking such a silly question? It's because every talent you have is one He gave you, but what you do with it is entirely up to you. You are an awesome, amazing, and beautiful piece of artwork that should never be looked down on, and your talents should never be taken away from you. God gave them to you to be yours and to choose to use them for Him.