Color My World

So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. “You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it. Isaiah 45:6-8 (NIV)

I came home from work tonight to find a string of color stretched across our porch. Our deck is also stained with dye as youngest son and his girlfriend spent their afternoon tie dying t-shirts. They were kind enough to make me one, too, but told me I didn’t have to wear it away from the house if I didn’t want to. They know me well. When did I get so conservative about colors? When I was a little girl, I had a purple room. Not lavender, but purple. Later, I changed it to bright yellow and in college, painted my dorm room blue. When we built our house twenty-six years ago, I suddenly became afraid of color. The whole house was painted cream with white trim. Carpets were brown and cabinets throughout the kitchen and bathrooms beige as well. Part of my conservativeness comes from the fact that husband hates to paint. I was so afraid I would tire of the color and have to live with it the rest of my life. We did live with it for nine years before we painted again. This time, I ventured out hoping for a tinge of blue in the white. Instead, the paint was a robin’s egg blue which I hated from the first stroke. But, we had a crew of volunteers at seven on a Saturday morning and there was no waiting until Sears opened at 10:00 for a second try. Everything was blue for twelve years before we went back to white again. Now, for some reason, husband has the urge to paint. Blogger friends, FC, Deb, Vicki and Sayre recently added bright colors to their houses. I am encouraged to try something new. Youngest son and his girlfriend want me to paint one wall, an accent wall of a darker, brighter color with a lighter complimentary shade for the rest of the walls. Most everyone is leaning towards green tones so I picked greens in a variety of shades. I love the fact that Lowes sells paint samples so I can see it on my walls. I tested out the colors with “soothing aloe” and “aloe essence” on one wall. Delicate mist, whitewater, and hint of mint adorn another. I threw in rosewood and cornmeal because I am not convinced green is the course I want to take. I plan on leaving the colors there for a few days to see them in different lights. I can’t wait too long or husband’s sanity will return and I will be stuck with rainbow colored walls behind where my couches go. Youngest son, my tie dye boy, thinks none of the colors are right. They are too subdued. Perhaps I should just give him the paint brush, go back on vacation and take a chance on what I find when I return. I’m glad God wasn’t restrained when He filled this world of ours with color. What a dull place it would be if I were the decorator!