This picture represents the patience & timing of God. Notice the dates at the tops of the pages. The picture on the left was colored on 8/25/23 and its companion page has today’s date, 7/31/25. Uh ma’am…these are nearly 2 years apart!!! What have you been up to?
Allow me to take you back to July 2023…
I was invited to speak at the G2G Women’s conference in Cancun Mexico. The entire conference was designed around ”Embracing the Sabbath as Sacred”. I preached the opening worship service and talked about finding your Sabbath Songs. Remembering those songs that carried you back to the feet of Jesus and allowed you to rest and linger there. This coloring book was one of the thoughtful items in the conference gift bag. I can recall sitting in the room during the conference and coloring one or two pages, but lost track of it when I returned back to the States.
A few months ago, I began therapy. Not for any particular reason but to have someone to check in with from time to time. I go, go, go and rarely pause to consider what I truly need in this season. Byron and I are technically “empty-nesters”, except for the 8-month-old puppy in our home. (That’s an entirely different story. Ha!) She encouraged me to find something that I liked to do for fun that totally relaxed me; but It couldn’t be tied to any type of outcome other than it brings me calm and pleasure. I REMEMBERED that coloring was one of those things that allowed me to lose myself with every stroke of the colored pencil, as I followed the curvature of the lines on the page. I scoured my home looking for the mandala coloring books that I used to own, but when I lifted a book, I ran across this miniature, yet powerful coloring book from the conference, two years ago. So for the past couple of months, I periodically flip through the pages and find one that speaks to my mood at the moment. Each page has a different phrase or saying and I choose which page to color, based on my head space at the time. Now if the page on the left was colored in 2023, what prevented me from coloring the adjacent page? Hmm?
As I sat up in bed coloring the right side of the page this morning, I chuckled upon noticing the 2 year gap between the dates. I think I had been intimidated upon first glance.
If you look closely, you’ll recognize the various patterns and geometric shapes, which meant that I would have to pause long enough to consider every pattern and choose the correct color. I had to completely focus and settle into what I was doing. The page on the left, “I am embracing the journey” was lighthearted and carefree. Notice how there are larger patterns and more open space. All I had to do was trace the outline and then color the interior. The woman in the picture was whimsical and carefree, she acknowledged that she can embrace the journey, but that was only the first step.
When you embrace the journey, you are saying yes to more. Yes to freedom. Yes to revelation. Yes to Sabbath. Yes to the cross. Yes to blocking out naysayers because all she did was put on her shades. Notice how her neck scarf is blowing in the wind. She is embracing the journey. Let’s go get it God! Looking at the picture on the left, you can imagine her sitting in the passenger seat of a convertible about to take to the winding roads on an even terrain. Carefree!
But in the right picture, there is no woman. The carefree nature has seemingly disappeared because the shapes and patterns have overtaken the page and the entire thing seems rather intimidating at first glance. I probably passed this page for such a long time because I was unwilling to pause and consider what it was going to take to complete it. I wear transition bifocals, so sometimes my eyes don’t adjust as quickly as I’d like and I find myself taking my glasses off to see up close. As I began to color this page, I noticed that I was spending more time with my glasses off than on. This page required total concentration and up close interpretation. I shifted the book ever so slightly to reach different aspects and angles of the page. Then I picked a color and allowed it to determine where it needed to be placed. Something about that dark blue started to hit differently. The more I colored, the more boldly I embraced the assignment! I, in fact, was “Embracing the Climb”.
That woman on the left reminds me of the joy, rest, and the freedom in resting in the journey, but the picture on the right reminds me that there are ebbs and flows, ups and downs in life. There is no straight path to this climb, but when you rest and enjoy the winding road there is joy and brightness along the way. None of our paths look the same, but we’re still climbing. The patterns might be similar, but we each have our destiny.
Rest has been unfolding for me for the last 2 years and I think I’m finally beginning to grasp it fully.
This past Sunday, I preached and talked about a recent train ride that I took from OKC to Fort Worth and how God spoke to me through my times of stillness and reflection. Now ya’ll know that I sho’ wanted to yank that Sermon and kill the house, but I was in a different head space. I was more reflective and taught in the midst of my rebirth. If I hold on to God’s promise, change my perspective, and praise God for the provision of the Spirit, I will find Sabbath rest. Rest lives in the silent spaces between my heartbeat and my breath. Rest is in the wisdom of those who walked before, speaking through my instincts, guiding my steps before I even think to ask for direction. Rest is not panicking during the climb, but embracing every straight or curvy, light or dark, simple or difficult path that is set before me. It took 2 years to arrive here, BUT I AM HERE!
I invite you to Embrace the Journey, but also learn how to Embrace the Climb gracefully. As you settle into the embrace, you will definitely get bolder.
Now walk it out…
