I’ve always loved art, and in my youth, I spent my free time sketching on vacation. While I struggled to draw people, I enjoyed capturing landscapes. I would take a blank page from my sketchbook and transform it into a realistic depiction of a building or natural scenery. For this reason, I have always admired the painter Bob Ross. Whenever I watched him on PBS, I was fascinated as he turned a blank canvas into a stunning masterpiece. Despite my efforts, I could never quite paint like him.

While he was painting, I would think that what he had done was already close to perfection. He would then say something like, “Now, let’s go crazy and paint some happy little trees here.” He would take an empty space and add those happy trees, and I would think, “No, don’t do that! You’ll ruin the painting!” To my surprise, he didn’t ruin it; instead, he improved it. In the end, I loved it even more because what I initially thought was an impulsive act was, in fact, part of his plan all along.

He would also encourage people to paint, and if they made a mistake on their canvas, a “happy little accident,” as he would call it, he would tell them, instead of starting again, to embrace the accident and keep painting so they could turn the painting into a beautiful work of art.

In a way, this is like our relationship with God. When we give our lives to Him, He takes our lives, a blank canvas, and begins to paint. We may not agree with what He is doing at the time, especially when those “happy little accidents” occur, but once we have seen what He has done, we understand.

Often, we try to take the brush from Him to paint ourselves, but we usually create a mess. Then, we sheepishly return the brush to Him so He can continue His work. God takes our mistakes and transforms them into something beautiful. Although it’s not easy, we need to trust God as He helps us craft our lives.

In the end, when we look at the final result, we’ll realize why He acted as He did. Why did He include sorrow and hardship alongside joyful moments? Nothing with God happens by chance; He paints the canvas of our lives intentionally. Therefore, let us place our trust in Him as He creates, confident that He understands what He’s doing. Have faith in the process and remain at ease!

Take care,

Bill R.