Start Drawing Pretty Pictures

I got this from a friend a couple of years ago and just never forgot it. It's simple but brilliant, really. I left a mark in my mind, I hope it leaves a mark in yours, too.

5 Important Lessons to Learn from a Humble Pencil

1. Everything you do will leave a mark. Good deeds, random acts of kindness, loving words uttered, they all impact the lives of others around us in some way or another – in good ways. People remember us kindly, think of us a little more often and extend us their hand when we're going through rough patches in life. It all seems nice and dandy, doesn't it? Like everybody's part of a nice, big, happy family. But realise this: what you do that isn't God-pleasing also leaves marks – unsightly marks that scar, disfigure and unravel what ever good you've done. So, what kind of marks do YOU want to leave?


2. You can always correct the mistakes you've made. If you've done wrong, fret not. There are always ways to make amends. It won't be easy. Righting a wrong rarely is. But it is definitely necessary. You can't possibly go through life making enemies and hurting those around you wherever you go, right? It just isn't acceptable behaviour. The secret lies in finding the right eraser. Some leads require softer erasers, some leads require harder ones to do a proper clean up. Find the right eraser and you'll be well on your way to a clean sheet.


3. What's important is what's inside you and not the outside. I've bought pencils that look good but do nothing. You know, those pretty decorative ones they sell at gift shops when you go abroad. They're rarely dark enough, they scratch holes in my pages, and they never totally get erased. It's not the look that counts. So the moral of this point is that no matter how bashed up you look on the outside, if your lead is quality lead, you know you'll go far. Go, Staedtler pencils! You look like crap but your insides rock. I aspire to be just like you.


4. In life, you are bound to undergo painful sharpenings that make you better in what you do. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It's unfair but we have to admit that it does happen. Some say it's Life's way of strengthening us. It is a test of our ability to face the storm... and of course get through it at the end of the day. I was going through a rough patch once and this friend of mine sent me this sms: "The measure of your trials is the measure of God's faith and trust in you. Keep that chin up, girl. Keeping you in prayers." If God has put you to it, he will bring you through it. Just be sure to keep hanging on to Him. And anyway, take heart. You always come out stronger than you were before. What doesn't break you can only make you.


5. To be the best you can be, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you. In the hands of a Gifted Artist, even skilled works of art come from mere mortals such as we. Therefore, you better make sure you end up in the right hands or you're in big trouble.

I'm gonna start drawing me some pretty pictures.
After all, I've got help from up above.