Life-Pictures

"See my picture!" Little Tatiana proudly showed Eden a page of scribbled lines. Red, blue, green, and yellow streaks crisscrossed the picture of balloons.Eden laughed. "Mom's never going to put that up on the fridge. It's a mess! You don't stay in the lines."Tatiana's lips puckered, and big tear drops crept down her cheeks. "Mommy!" she wailed and ran to find her mother.Eden sighed as she took an orange crayon from the box and began to carefully color the stained glass window in a picture of a church. Now Mom's gonna chew me out for telling Tatiana the truth, she thought. Does she really think her pictures are good enough to put up next to mine? Eden looked at her picture carefully and chose another crayon to use. It was nearly finished when Mom walked into the room, holding Tatiana's hand."I came to see some pictures," said Mom. "Let me see what you colored today, Tatiana." The little girl found her picture and handed it to her mother. She beamed when Mom complimented her on the colors she had chosen.Then Mom looked at Eden's picture. "This is very nicely done. You stayed in the lines as you colored, and like you told Tatiana, a picture is prettier when you stay inside the lines." Eden smiled and nodded as Mom continued looking at the picture. "You know, I'm so glad that when I struggle to color inside the lines in life, Jesus gives me grace.""What do you mean?" Eden asked."If living a perfect life is like coloring inside the lines, I mess up a lot! But Jesus always forgives me and is helping me become more like Him. He lived a perfect life because I couldn't and died for my sins, and He helps me show love and grace to others so they can see that my life-picture is beautiful because of Him."Eden was quiet for a moment, thinking about her mother's words and the grace she had received from Jesus too. "I shouldn't have been so tough on Tatiana's coloring," Eden whispered."What can you do about it?" asked Mom.Eden smiled at her little sister. "I'm sorry, Tatiana. Would you like me to help you color another picture?" Tatiana nodded happily. –Lucinda J. Rollings