"What He ordains for us each moment is what is most holy, best, and most divine for us." Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Friday, May 7, 2010

Color: the Sound of His Voice

I've become acutely aware of color lately. Maybe it began with the brilliant red male cardinals outside my window or the indigo bunting that made a quick stop at my bird feeder a few weeks ago. Or maybe it has just been the incredible green resulting from all the winter rains. I do know that I adopted a prayer by Henri Nouwen earlier this year that simply says, "Open my senses to Your presence, Lord." But whatever has brought on this new spark of interest, color is everywhere.

A new dimension was added this week to my latest pursuit by my friend Vicki: that of allowing God to speak through color. Who says He can? Who says He can't? After all, isn't He always speaking? Maybe sometimes we just need to listen with our eyes.

My journey began by looking up the meanings of colors.

For example, blue symbolizes the heavenly realm; the revelation of God and His revelational knowledge.

Among the symbols for green is eternal life, prosperity, health, new beginning and harvest.

Plum symbolizes richness, abundance, and an infilling of the Holy Spirit. Pink: child-like faith.

And yellow/gold symbolizes the glory of God, among other things.

Brown: man as we are on earth -- the ordinary day-to-day. Cream: healing.

And so I began to allow color to be a tool to hear God. How? Let me share a couple of examples.

This morning I was praying for my children; each one individually. As I prayed for my daughter-in-love Adrianne, I sensed a pause, not knowing exactly how I should continue. So I sent a quick text that read, "What color are you wearing today?" She immediately responded, "Brown and blue." My prayer resumed. I pray You would open the heavenlies today to Adrianne and she would see -- and recognize -- You throughout its course. Reveal Yourself to her in the "daily," the ordinary. Open her mind and heart to the great mystery of Your active presence in her life.

As I thought of my daughter Marynan, I remembered the orange purse she had slung over her shoulder yesterday as she got out of the car from our lunch date. Thank You for calling this one out and making her Yours. May she dwell in Your tent in deep intimacy with You... You see, orange is the color of passion.

I've even added color to my journal. Earlier this week I wrote out Eph. 4:23-24 as my Scripture memory. "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." This morning I took out a colored pencil and shaded the entire space green, because the verse speaks of "new beginning."

What an exciting journey I'm on: allowing God speak to me through color. And not only that, He's allowing me to speak into people as a result. Keep your eyes open, dear readers. He's talking to you, too.

Oh, and have you ever smelled green? That's another blog.

Just an ordinary moment...

4 comments:

Joey said...

I've always loved the splendor, and simplicity of the way God chose to color His world.

Thank you, for this blog and for your insight.

lei visha said...

I'm just looking around for christian blogs and I came across yours. I love this post. Thank you.

Godbless.

Bev said...

Nancy, I love how God smiles at me through the colors of His world. I always have, and I am very much a visual learner, but I took a watercolor class a couple of years ago and it totally changed the way I see things around me. Light, shadows, and colors. In addition, I try to notice other things in His world for a different reason now. My son, Scott, is extremely color-blind. I have always been fascinated by this, and I used to play games with him - what color does this look like to you? He always humored me, but I knew he tired of it. About a year ago I was able to see the world through Scott's eyes. He downloaded a colorful picture to a website that transforms it into what he sees. I was truly shocked at how different his world is from mine. We have spoken about this many times. He doesn't know anything any different; it's the way he has always seen life. While I felt saddened for him, he doesn't feel disabled or handicapped or as though he has missed out. (Although we have gone to great lengths at times to make sure all his clothes will coordinate!) He sees PEOPLE and EVENTS and notices small things that I do not. He feels and sees God's presence regardless. I am so humbled by that! I am so grateful for the senses God has given me, but I am even more grateful that our God finds ways to reach all of His children! We are so blessed that He loves us individually and knows what approach to take with each one of us. Thank-you for your blog.... love, Bev"

Lucy Mills said...

fascinating!