Follow the Pattern

You can learn a lesson from anything—even a seven-foot tall Abominable Snowman.

            My dad was planning to sell Christmas trees, and wanted something unusual to draw attention. Like seven feet of monster—a cute monster—for a sign. I was given the job of designing it. All in a day’s work around here.

            Now, you might imagine me going out to the barn where the massive sheet of plywood waited, and quickly sketching the sign freehand. Sorry, but that’s not how it works. I have a hard time keeping proportions right on any drawing larger than a standard sheet of paper. First, I had to experiment with a seven-inch Abominable. Once he looked like what Dad wanted, there was the question of how to transfer him to the plywood. I decided to use a graph method. First, I divided the little Abominable into sections by inches. Then, using a measuring stick and a long board for a straight-edge, I divided the plywood surface into sections by feet. For the harder parts, like around the fingers and toes, I quartered the sections for more precision. Then, it was time to fill each big square with exactly what was in each little square.

            As soon as I bent down to apply my pencil to the wood, doubts attacked me. Are the eyes really that small? The mouth is going to be lopsided. Surely the fingers can’t be that fat!

            As an artist, I tend to create more by sight than faith, trusting my own gut over the rules and instructions.

            But while working on the Abominable, I had to wrestle my instinct down to the cold cement floor and hold it still while I drew. Instinct screamed that the graph was flawed somehow, that it was leading me astray…limiting me.

            But I knew that was a lie. I knew the measurements were sound. The pattern was true. So I obeyed the graph, even when it felt awkward and impossible. Guess what? After I followed the pattern, I was able to step back, and when I saw things in perspective, the vision I had glimpsed in small version on paper had become reality in a huge form.

From this...

To this.



            Dad cut the big guy out and painted him—and did a fine job, too. He was quite pleased with how Abominable was turning out. A few days later, I returned to add words to the sign. This time was different. I did not submit to planning. I came with an attitude of just wanting to get it over with fast. No graph, no guidelines. I grabbed a paintbrush and followed my heart. Soon, I realized that I had made a grave mistake, but it was too late to correct course. I ended up frustrated with the shoddy results.

I sometimes have doubts about the pattern God sets before me.

            Lord, I don’t think I’m equipped for this job.

How can this frustrating project be Your will?

Hey, could You make ________ happen faster?

            I have to pry my eyes away from straining to see, from my limited, skewed earthly perspective, how the picture fits together. By His grace, I can focus on the square I’m in right now, and trust Him with the rest. When I’m given the gift of being able to step back and see things in eternal perspective, His pattern will be absolutely flawless.