March 26 – “And God said …”

Our neighborhood Facebook page had a post the other day about doing some sidewalk art so people out walking could have some extra entertainment on their strolls.  I thought it was a great idea for all the little kiddos to try their hand at what certainly could be considered an “official” homeschool art project. 

Of course I already knew one particular “little kid” who would jump at the chance to do some driveway art.  In a concerted effort to be of assistance, I located our grandkid stash of chalk and took it outside.  Unfortunately our neighbor Brennan didn’t happen to be outside at the time.  Rather than break social distancing protocol by knocking on his door, and since it would have been boring and foolish to waste valuable time just sitting out there on the chance that he might appear, I had no choice but to go ahead and do a “test screening” of the chalk … just to make sure they all worked, you understand.

Amazingly enough, I just happened to have brought outside with me a copy of one the Visual Verses I do at church on Sundays.  What a coincidence.  The picture was there.  The chalk was there.  Why not go for it?  So I duplicated the VV drawing.  And the amazing thing was, by the time I finished, Brennan was outside.  I delivered the box of chalk, and in an instant he was working on one of his own. 

Now my drawing was rather cut and dried, obviously a portrayal of a verse of scripture.  Brennan’s, however, was a work of abstract art.  He had circles connected by lines.  He had on circle about the size of a small area rug with some random shapes inside it, surrounded by four of what could only be described as jellyfish.  At that point I couldn’t help myself.  I began giving my interpretation of what I saw.  The circle was obviously a small boat floating in the water above the four jellyfish.  Brennan wasn’t quite convinced until something happened that validated my whole description.  Their little shih tzu dog was outside.  He walked right over to the “boat,” made sure he was completely on board, and proceeded to lie down.  The perfect spot for a nap.  Thanks, Max.

Later on that evening Chris and I took a walk to look for other creations.  There were a few scattered about.  Maybe there will be more next time.  There were three obvious categories, though. 

Children’s abstract – always my favorite, of course.  These were obviously done by our little budding Rembrandts. 

Religious – Visual verses fell into this category.  We also saw crosses and other Bible references and words of encouragement. 

Coronavirus – These were the funniest of all.  One was a chalk outline of a fallen figure with the caption, “Died of Boredom.”  Then there was the “Days locked up” count.  Another drew a ruler with the admonition to “Stay 6 feet apart.”  My favorite in this category was a take on scripture that read, “And God said. ‘Wash Your Hands’ – Covid:19.”

I hope those who participated had a good time.  I sure did.  Thanks, Katie Assad for posting the idea. 

Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemaker, for they will be called children of God.”

Father, thank you fun and creative ideas that help people get through this quarantine.  Amen.