Picture Perfect

If you haven’t had your picture painted by a budding child artist, I recommend it. It can be very …enlightening.

Below is one of my four year old daughter’s works of art. It hangs on the wall in our kitchen.

When she presented it to me, I could tell she was proud. “Look! It’s you and Daddy!” She said with glee.

I smiled at her enthusiasm. It was clear she felt this painting captured my husband and I perfectly.

I, on the other hand, was a little unsure of the dimensions of the person on the left. I didn’t want to offend the artist, but I did want to clarify one thing…

“So, does Mommy have a baby in her belly?” I thoughtfully suggest. “No,” her quick reply.

I try again. “Is Mommy wearing a big poofy dress?” “No… you’re wearing your slim dress,” she answers with such resoluteness that I almost question my reason for asking.

To put this into perspective for the reader’s benefit, I am 5’2″ (on a tall day) and weigh just slightly more than an average sized adult North Pacific Giant Octopus.

Perhaps you can understand why I was a little confused.

My daughter is very honest (sometimes uncomfortably so), but in this case, I was sure she was mistaken.

Misperception

The artist’s depiction of me didn’t cause me to seriously reconsider how I saw myself (she’s only 4), but it did make me reflect on how she saw me.

“Do I look like that to her?” “Is the angle from which she sees me skewing how her typically observant eyes calculate my proportions?”

It was a little disconcerting.

‘Slim’ Dress Understanding

I found out weeks after she had painted the picture that she really had tried to paint me as a stick figure like she painted her father.

The problem was, at the time of her painting, she hadn’t mastered the triangle dress that female stick figure images typically wear.

Here’s the cutest stick figure image I could find. Take a look at that triangle dress. Even with ruffles and polka dots (two very cute additions), you can see why not having the technique down could cause some problems. As for me, this experience has given me good reason to steer clear of triangle dresses.

The simple act of communicating her struggle to paint my dress helped clear up all of the confusion. Stick figure me is wearing a ‘slim’ triangle dress!

Clear Picture

Misperceptions happen everyday. The best solution for this that I know of is communication. Communication is what clears away the confusion. Communication helps people see each other in a fresh light.

In His Image

Do we misperceive how God sees us? At times, do we feel like the angle with which we view Him is skewed?

Choosing to communicate with Him will clear up any uncertainty about how He views us.

I invite you to take a moment to ask your Father in Heaven what He sees.

I guarantee if you sincerely ask in faith to know your standing with God, He will answer you.

“You are my child. You are created in my perfect image. I know you. I love you as you are. I can help you become so much more. Trust me.”