The Color of Her Crayons

As children we are often told to color inside the lines, even though some of the world's most famous artists didn't seem to follow that concept when making their masterpieces. Actually, I believe the color you choose to draw or paint with is even more important, especially when it comes to life.

Several months ago, my wife and I were out in our storage shed searching for a winter coat for our youngest daughter. As I was checking through the pockets of the coat we had found, I discovered six Crayola crayons. This may seem like an insignficant find to most, but to me, it was gold. These crayons were last used by my oldest daughter before she passed away (at 7 years old). The colors I found were: yellow, carnation, brick red, apricot, magenta, and orange.

The crayons now sit prominently on my work desk and as I gaze at each one, there is a specific thought or word that comes to my mind. Yellow means bright. Carnation reminds me of the flower. Brick red means hard work. Apricot reminds me of fruit. Magenta reminds me of the dog on Blue’s Clues, and orange, being my favorite color, means fire or passion. If I had to draw with those six colors, from a seven year old’s perspective, it would look like this: orange man, with a magenta dog, picking an apricot off a tree, with a brick red house in the background, carnation flowers next to the house, and lastly, a bright yellow sun in the sky.

I believe the colors we choose to use in our everyday life are important. Are we using angry words like, black, or sad colors like, blue, if we are discouraged? After I lost my daughter, these are the colors I chose to draw with. Orange was and is my favorite color, but for years I put it away or maybe I just refused to use it. It just didn’t seem appropriate, but now I've realized that all six colors my daughter had been using are bright colors. These colors show up best when used on a dark background. God has taught me yet again how children, even unknown to them, can teach us powerful lessons. The darkness and depression I was in for so many years, has set the background that now can be used to draw brilliant pictures I never imagined possible.

Perhaps when choosing a color to draw with for the day, we should choose a bright one.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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