Uh oh to Oh YEAH! My love story about "oops" paint!
So, I ran down to my local hardware store to pick up a gallon of this amazing paint color I dreamed up in my head. The inspiration was a way-too-expensive wallpaper I found on the internet. A dark olive with brownish undertones. It was going to be perfect on the wall behind my fireplace (which was the only remaining blue wall in my "Coastal Fog" colored living room...that had thus taken me three years to paint. I average a wall per year.) Anyhoo, I excitedly walked into the store and headed for the paint chips! But, alas! How could it be? There was NO SUCH COLOR! What was I going to do? Obviously, I was going to do what I usually do in the first place...look for the oops paint.
I love oops paint! That mis-mixed mecca of paint paradise is where I normally go when I'm looking for some makeup for my walls. Once in a great while I'll take it like it is. Usually I have a little pigment added to make it darker, richer, or a completely different color. I have even bought it and mixed it with paint I already had. These wonderful gallons of mistakes are marked way down, thus making it easier for my tight budget to accommodate.
Our hardware store guys are awesome! The one who waited on us today found a can that was similar to the color of a chip I had in my hand. It had been sitting there for a while, as was evidenced by the mix date scrawled on the label. We discussed darkening it up with some brown. This color was close, but it really was MUCH lighter than what I had in mind. The 10 month old thumb print on the top of the can was spot on the color inside. Our paint guy slathered some on a paint stir so we could see how it was going to dry. Yep. Same color as the top of the lid. My imaginary color was so much better. However, this color was so pretty and so perfectly mixed. It wasn't really what I wanted, but I didn't have the heart to change it. It wasn't the color I had in mind, but that paint and I connected. I was taking it home. It was going to be mine!
I couldn't wait to get home to paint my wall! After moving furniture, feeding kids, and a whole bunch of other stuff, I finally opened the can and breathed in that amazing fresh paint smell. Loading up my brush, I eyed the wall and picked a starting point. Making my first swipe to edge in the door frame, I decided I was in love. It was a nice, rich paint, and easily covered the battered blue. Reaching a stopping point, I went to clean out my brush and clean up. Only later, as the paint began to really dry and set, did I see it...the color was changing!
I love oops paint. But, more than how much I love oops paint...I love how God cares about what's important to us. I've prayed about this living room. God knows, more than anyone else, how much I've wanted to change this space. It's the first room you see when you walk into the house, and it's always a mess! I have complained to God, talked to God, mentioned to God in passing, about how I've wanted to fix up this room. I prayed that I would actually find a color I liked. I told Him what I wanted. I know that sounds silly to some, but I do "talk" to God about all kinds of things. Did I think I was going to hear a voice from Heaven telling me what color to paint it? No. But, I talked to Him about it anyway. You know what? I know He heard me. He didn't just hear me. He gave me what I wanted! See? As the paint dried, it darkened. Much darker than is normal for drying paint. Much darker than the 10 month old thumb print on the lid of the paint can. Much darker than the swatch on the paint stir. Much darker than the paint in the can. Not just a darker version of that pretty olive green. A completely different color! The exact color I dreamed of. The precise shade of dark olive with brown undertones that had been dancing around in my imagination. God took this mis-mixed mistake paint and made it into an amazing shade of perfection.
Isn't that so like what He does with us? We are messy, mixed up mistakes on so many levels. Maybe it's our past, maybe it's our present; bad choices, traumatic experiences, wrong directions, etc. All the uh ohs and oopses that we have done or have had done to us are like so many cans of mis-mixed paint. Unwanted, undesirable, unacceptable...except to God. He takes it all and creates an amazing shade of perfection in us. IF we let Him. And why wouldn't we? He's the master painter, paint mixer extraordinaire! He created all the color and beauty in the world, including us! He knows better than anyone how valuable we are. He made us! He loves us! He wants us!
So, the next time you feel like your life needs a coat of paint, go talk to the Master Painter. Remember the value of mistakes. Remember how awesome God is to provide, not just our needs, but also our wants. Be more mindful of how God can change us into exactly who we're supposed to be, and that it's our responsibility to let Him. He can take that uh oh life you're living and turn it into Oh YEAH! And don't forget to be patient! Sometimes you have to just wait until it's all dry and set to see exactly how it's going to turn out. :)
I love oops paint! That mis-mixed mecca of paint paradise is where I normally go when I'm looking for some makeup for my walls. Once in a great while I'll take it like it is. Usually I have a little pigment added to make it darker, richer, or a completely different color. I have even bought it and mixed it with paint I already had. These wonderful gallons of mistakes are marked way down, thus making it easier for my tight budget to accommodate.
Our hardware store guys are awesome! The one who waited on us today found a can that was similar to the color of a chip I had in my hand. It had been sitting there for a while, as was evidenced by the mix date scrawled on the label. We discussed darkening it up with some brown. This color was close, but it really was MUCH lighter than what I had in mind. The 10 month old thumb print on the top of the can was spot on the color inside. Our paint guy slathered some on a paint stir so we could see how it was going to dry. Yep. Same color as the top of the lid. My imaginary color was so much better. However, this color was so pretty and so perfectly mixed. It wasn't really what I wanted, but I didn't have the heart to change it. It wasn't the color I had in mind, but that paint and I connected. I was taking it home. It was going to be mine!
I couldn't wait to get home to paint my wall! After moving furniture, feeding kids, and a whole bunch of other stuff, I finally opened the can and breathed in that amazing fresh paint smell. Loading up my brush, I eyed the wall and picked a starting point. Making my first swipe to edge in the door frame, I decided I was in love. It was a nice, rich paint, and easily covered the battered blue. Reaching a stopping point, I went to clean out my brush and clean up. Only later, as the paint began to really dry and set, did I see it...the color was changing!
I love oops paint. But, more than how much I love oops paint...I love how God cares about what's important to us. I've prayed about this living room. God knows, more than anyone else, how much I've wanted to change this space. It's the first room you see when you walk into the house, and it's always a mess! I have complained to God, talked to God, mentioned to God in passing, about how I've wanted to fix up this room. I prayed that I would actually find a color I liked. I told Him what I wanted. I know that sounds silly to some, but I do "talk" to God about all kinds of things. Did I think I was going to hear a voice from Heaven telling me what color to paint it? No. But, I talked to Him about it anyway. You know what? I know He heard me. He didn't just hear me. He gave me what I wanted! See? As the paint dried, it darkened. Much darker than is normal for drying paint. Much darker than the 10 month old thumb print on the lid of the paint can. Much darker than the swatch on the paint stir. Much darker than the paint in the can. Not just a darker version of that pretty olive green. A completely different color! The exact color I dreamed of. The precise shade of dark olive with brown undertones that had been dancing around in my imagination. God took this mis-mixed mistake paint and made it into an amazing shade of perfection.
Isn't that so like what He does with us? We are messy, mixed up mistakes on so many levels. Maybe it's our past, maybe it's our present; bad choices, traumatic experiences, wrong directions, etc. All the uh ohs and oopses that we have done or have had done to us are like so many cans of mis-mixed paint. Unwanted, undesirable, unacceptable...except to God. He takes it all and creates an amazing shade of perfection in us. IF we let Him. And why wouldn't we? He's the master painter, paint mixer extraordinaire! He created all the color and beauty in the world, including us! He knows better than anyone how valuable we are. He made us! He loves us! He wants us!
So, the next time you feel like your life needs a coat of paint, go talk to the Master Painter. Remember the value of mistakes. Remember how awesome God is to provide, not just our needs, but also our wants. Be more mindful of how God can change us into exactly who we're supposed to be, and that it's our responsibility to let Him. He can take that uh oh life you're living and turn it into Oh YEAH! And don't forget to be patient! Sometimes you have to just wait until it's all dry and set to see exactly how it's going to turn out. :)
Comments
Post a Comment