Rejoicing over Yellow and Other Things

Rain drops against the window panes woke me up this morning. I pulled up our blind to a gray sky and gray snow. The pristine white of winter lost. Only dirt remains in hardened drifts as the moisture content melts and washes away.

I love rainy days during three seasons of the year—but not during winter when the ground is frozen and rain turns to ice. Ken looked out the window in horror to see a widow across the street literally slide down her gently-sloping driveway as she took trash to the street for collection. Being the hearty soul she is, she maintained her balance and made her way back to the garage by tramping through a blotchy snow bank.

On such a day as this, creativity is in order. And I’m at something of an impasse. I don’t know what to do about a possible website—can’t look to it as a source of solace for sure. So I opened this blog. Just to look.

I love the yellow. Just yesterday a decorator on TV referred to cheesy yellow. But I can’t help myself—next to red, yellow is my favorite. It’s also my neutral color, my perfect backdrop for reds, blues, greens, and even purples.

I wanted a softer shade, but attempts to manipulate the code either added a greenish cast or resulted in a bright, overpowering hue. Today, however, I want cheerful, and this shade of yellow is cheerful. Furthermore, I’m enjoying the physical appearance of the blog because I brought the elements together—the picture, the background, the red headings, the text colors.

I’ve received comments on the new design. One mentioned the picture, and being she did, I’m going to tell you about it. Primarily because it illustrates something about creativity.

It happened in Ethiopia when Ken and I met our son and his family there. Ethiopian flowers were abundant—on the streets, in courtyards, everywhere. They bloom all year in the ideal climate, and are a major export. Only Holland sells more in the European market.

A friend of our daughter-in-law Marta drove us to many sites while we were there, including beautiful hotels with breathtaking gardens. And I took pictures. The masthead photo for this blog was supposed to be a picture of a huge bank of white roses stretching across a parking lot. The presence of a path was incidental.

So I didn’t catch what I wanted—the flowers look less than spectacular. However, through the art of cropping I focused on a sunny path that's beautifully emphasized by flowers along its edges.

Isn’t that the way with our creative efforts? So often we have an idea, it doesn’t work, and something else emerges.

There’s a great deal of hope in that idea. Think about it next time you’re stuck at home on a gray day and decide to prepare a special treat or dinner—but you’re missing a key ingredient. You make do, experiment, and create a new and unforeseen taste-treat to grace your family’s palate.

Or when you want to wear something different—but your closet contains only the same old same old. I’ve created a few interesting ensembles that way—and even worn them in public. But I’ve also created exciting combinations that I’ve worn again and again—like the purple jacket over a yellow turtleneck, accented by red wood beads. Such fun.

There was a time when I downplayed my joy in creating. It somehow seemed self-centered. Now I think creativity taps into God—and that He experiences great pleasure when we draw from Him.

Years ago I learned a song that didn’t make sense to me at the time. It portrayed God rejoicing over His people. I thought it was Scripture so I searched Stong’s Concordance, to no avail. But I found two other interesting verses. In one, a psalmist extols the wonders of nature, God’s provision for His creation, the whole works. Then he says, May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works . . . . (Ps. 104:32 ESV)

The context of the other verse is the return of God’s people to Israel—and by extension, the return of God’s people to a life focused on Him. It reads, I [God] will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in the land. (Jer. 32:41 NLT)

Imagine. That’s God speaking through the prophets. He rejoices over His creation, including flowers in Ethiopia, rain and melting snow in North Dakota, and oh-so-much more. And He rejoices in doing good for His people.

When I started writing this morning, I simply knew I enjoyed yellow—one of the colors God created. With that as a starting point, as one thought led to another, God brought me into enjoying not only one color but His entire creation.

And then? Well, He reminded me that He finds joy in doing good for me. I don't know what that means or how it will work out, but it's an overwhelming thought. One that causes me to join Him in songs of joy. We have an awesome, personal God. Oh, He’s good. Very, very good.