A PICTURE OF ME ON MY BIRTHDAY


“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬


“Nana, I’m sorry that I didn’t use your favourite colour, but I don’t know what happened to my red crayon….” A heartbreaking expression of tearful sadness filled Micah’s little face before he suddenly perks up and announces “But look, you have a giant crown on your head.  You are the boss of Botswana and you are the queen of the world.  I love you so much, Nana!”


The artist of this masterpiece is my adorable 5-year-old grandson.  Although, at face value, his art skills might appear distinctly unsophisticated for his age and a certain mismatch to his precocious giftedness, with this particular picture, he manages to capture detail which cannot even be contained in the highest definition of digital photography without an artificial light source.  The night-sky is filled with stars and clouds, yet it is possible to observe the flower, grass and tree in all of its bright splendour.  It IS night, but it is NOT dark.


I am NEITHER the boss of Botswana NOR the queen of the world, I am merely the chief and visionary of a company doing business in Botswana and for a significant amount of time, I have been both Nana AND Mommy to Micah.  I guess that to a five-year-old, making enough money to take care of him and his daddy, makes me a boss and loving him like a nana AND a mommy, makes me a queen.  


Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and I was blessed beyond measure by loved ones from all over the world.  A collection of pictures taken throughout the day will preserve these heartwarming memories, but it will be Micah’s picture that will serve as my official birthday picture, because there has never been a more beautiful (meaningful) picture of me than this one right here!            


How did I go from being NEVER happy with the image of myself in pictures for over half a century to being COMPLETELY CONTENT with my image as drawn by a 5-year-old?


“….He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Look at the picture again.  I am blue, my disproportionally enormous heart is on the outside, I am missing a few important bodyparts, and on my head is a giant crown.  Due to a lost red crayon, there is absolutely no red in the picture and it took Micah the best part of 3 minutes to draw it on an A2 sheet of blank paper.  It is simple.  It is pure.  It is true.  It is unfiltered.


Oh Lord, my God, thank You for using Micah to remind me:

That the crown on my head was paid for, in full, by Jesus with His precious (red) blood, no red crayon needed.

That I am Yours, missing bodyparts and all.

That my heart beats with Your perfect heartbeat, outside of me, for Your people.


“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…..My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.”

Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭10‬-‭12,17‬ ‭NIV‬‬


“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Comments

  1. Maretha MOctober 25, 2023 at 6:19 PM

    Beautiful beyond words. A blue birthday, filled with true admiration and priceless love. THANK YOU, Lulu!

    ReplyDelete

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