By Lilly Lewin
As many of you know, I am a big fan of crayons! I totally believe that crayons are for everyone! I believe that all ages should have access to crayons in church and be invited to draw during worship.
I often post the art that I draw during worship gatherings, hashtaging them #sermonssketching on Instagram. Art is how I express my worship to God.
This past Sunday our thinplaceNASHVILLE community gathered at the Frist Art Museum to do an Art Walk as our time of worship and reflection.
At an Art Walk we allow God to take us on a journey through the art museum and we take time to notice the colors, the story, the textures in the works around us. We allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the art as well as listening to a passage of scripture together (Lectio Divinia as we begin our time together). Then after an hour or so, we meet back in the café and talk about what we saw and where God took us on our walk.
One of the exhibits currently on view is entitled “Chaos and Awe” and reflects much of how our culture is now filled with disconnection and distance from one another.
Another exhibit is by an Iranian American artist named Afruz Amighian, amazing sculptor of form and light. Her works are curated in an exhibit called “The Presence of your Absence is Everywhere.”
Jesus spoke to me through both of the these exhibits, and even through the people at the museum on Sunday. It gave me hope to see so many families there together and so much diversity in the people gathered there. Art speaks to everyone! Regardless of color or nationality, or age!
At the café, after our meal and discussion, we closed our time together by choosing crayons out of a crayon box. We each took home three crayons.
One represented a color that we needed for the week.
Another was a color we would give away to someone else to bring them Joy and Hope.
And the third crayon we chose was a crayon to help us pray with during the week.
Get a Box of Crayons and you can do this too!
What do colors represent for you?
What does a box of crayons represent to you?
Fun, creativity, joy? Or fear or frustration because you don’t’ like to draw.
Pick a crayon that represents who you are…what color did you choose and why do you like this color? Maybe you need to choose more than one.
Or choose a color that reminds you of something you need to remember…or something you need in your life right now. I choose a beautiful blue crayon because blue gives me peace, like the ocean does.
My husband chose an Avocado colored crayon because he wanted to remember that “ you cannot please everyone, you are not an Avacado”
Now choose a crayon that will remind you to pray for someone else this week. Who is that person and what is their color? I chose a color that would remind me to pray for the president.
Now, Pick a crayon to give to someone else to bring them joy and hope this week. What color did you choose? Who do you want to give it to?
Finally, you might choose several crayons that represent your life right now or your emotions, and hold these crayons in your hand. Let your hand become God’s hand. Picture Jesus/God holding all the things, all the colors your life, your emotions, pain, joy and sorrows. Know that God is using these colors to create a beautiful picture.
Allow God to hold all your crayons today!
Remember that the God of the Universe created all the amazing colors in our world and God holds all the colors of our lives together in his hand!
Praying you take time notice the colors around you this weekend, or even take an art walk to a museum or gallery near you. Or get some paper and crayons and find joy in the coloring.