Embracing the wonky

Recently I bought a paint by numbers kit. I thought, how hard could this be? I can often over-estimate my skill level and how much You-Tube can show me.  In life I often expect higher of myself and want to push harder. While this can be good at times, other times it leaves me exhausted and frustrated with my limitations.  I have an image in my mind of what I want the situation to be like and how everything should turn out. When I cling to this, I’m predictably disappointed. A blog writer invited me to ‘embrace the wonky’ in my life. I only find joy, freedom, and creativity when I choose to let things be.  Our lives are not impersonal production line paintings at a factory that all need to fit a certain standard or risk rejection. They are each treasured pieces of art being created with The One who loves us. So, when I look at my latest canvas, I choose to be proud of it anyway. Not because it matches the image on the kit cover, but simply because it is mine. I had the courage to try. I learned new things.  So, when a season of our life doesn’t look like what we’d hoped, let’s take heart. We, along with God in us, are not producing perfection, we are creating art. It is not about control, meeting expectations or the final product being perfect. Creating art is about curiosity, letting go, accepting what’s unexpected, and trusting the process of the Holy Spirit at work within us. My core worth and value are not in what I produce, but in being a child of a loving Creator God.  I am learning to trust that as I embrace the wonky, though not perfect, however it turns out, it will be enough.