Splashes of Color, Splashes of Love and Joy
I received 4 big pieces of clean, white packing paper in my order. Perfect for homemade Christmas wrapping paper I thought. I gave them to my children to paint reds and greens with splashes of yellow and blue, here and there. Imaginings of Martha Stewart, magazine beauty that my children would create from this homespun craft filled my mind.

What really happened were smudges of brown, pools of black, globs of blue, a hodge podge of signed names, splatted and sploched. But they loved it, loved the fun of being together and creating something of their own, of feeling the paint, of casting pools of color on snow white fields. And what once lacked beauty of it's own is now infused with beauty of love. Plain paper received to be cast aside, now holds theological lessons of my heavenly Father taking the brown and black stains of my life and loving me, and because of His love, I am infused with love and beauty, though truly I hold none of my own. Putting aside expectations and putting on love, becoming lovely because I am loved by the Father these are my lessons of Christmas-time expectations.