As old as I am, it is still difficult for me. No matter how much I struggle, I simply cannot stay within the lines when I color.

As a child, I often glanced over at the color pages of other children in my class. This included Sunday school as well. Their pages had pretty uses of colors and defined edges. My page looked as if I had colored while wearing a blindfold.

It really is no better now. When my daughter Sara was small, I would sit with her and color. I often heard, “Momma, you’re going out of the lines again.”

I dare say some of you are thinking, “Why don’t you try paint by numbers?” I found out the hard way that I do worse on them than I do on coloring pages. For instance, my grandparents had two paintings of deer that used to hang in their front room. I was amazed when I found out my uncle painted them using a paint by numbers kit. Naturally, I wanted to do that too.

My parents let me pick out a paint by number kit with a happy and cute puppy on the box cover. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see my puppy picture hanging on the wall too. Well…that never happened. Let’s just say the puppy in my painted picture didn’t look like the one on the box. At all.

Throughout the years, I have tried various paint by number kits. While I have somewhat improved, they are still not that great. I wouldn’t even hang them on the refrigerator door.
I am tempted at times to try again, but I know what will happen. I’ll forget the spot I painted is still wet and I’ll smudge it across other numbered areas. Then I won’t be able to tell what the original number was. Next I’ll use the wrong paint for the spot, or better yet, I’ll think another color will look better. It usually doesn’t.

My drawing abilities aren’t much better. I break out into a sweat when I try to draw a stick person. Seriously! I can’t draw anything where anybody can tell what it is. If I were to draw a picture of a tractor, somebody would probably say, “Oh look, a car from the Flintstones.”

We’re not even going to discuss my attempts at connecting the dots.

When I relate my various unsuccessful artistic endeavors, people are surprised and even confused. “But you’re a writer.” Or “You write stories.”

Unfortunately, just because I love to create with words, it doesn’t mean I can create with anything else. That is just the way the Good Lord made me and I have accepted it. Could I work at my “artistic” ability and make it better? Sure I could, but right now I am more interested in writing and speaking my stories for others to enjoy.

Besides, I came to a realization: the worst thing you can do is stay within the lines.

I’m not talking about being irresponsible or disrespectful. Not all. I am talking about writing or doing whatever your talent is for the Lord instead of what society dictates. Most times any more, those are two very different things.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (KJV).

So don’t worry about the going outside the lines. The Lord doesn’t.

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (KJV)