Not exactly what I had in mind!

This morning our Lenten project was "cross crafts." I set out some wooden crosses and some paints and we had a very nice conversation about the cross as a key symbol for us as Christians. We talked about how awesome it is that Jesus died for us on the cross. Then the boys started to paint.....

As you can see in the picture, both boys were really concentrating (notice both tongues sticking out) and they were enjoying this project. I was biting my tongue, sitting on my hands, and praying. You see, the finished products ended up being very different from my vision for what these crosses would look like. I would never have used orange and green... I would have been more thoughtful and careful about applying the paint...

I wanted so badly to say, "Would Jesus like the way your crosses look?" But I didn't say that, because I'm pretty sure I heard Jesus tell me, "Yes.... that's exactly the way I want them to look!"

So often God speaks to me through the boys. Usually it's lessons I don't want to learn. I am such a perfectionist. I want things done a certain way. I am learning (a painful little bit each day) that I need to let go of some of my expectations. (Yes, Mom, Dad, and so many of my other readers --- I CAN hear you laughing!)

I NEED to let the boys express themselves and explore and discover things. It's hard for me.... but it almost always leads me to new insights and deeper appreciation and love for them. They were so proud of their crosses and they painted them with such love. Ultimately, the crosses do not look the way I wanted them to look, but they are even more beautiful than I could have imagined. The boys "got it" -- they learned about the meaning of the cross... and so did I.