"Red & Yellow, Black & White"....

Good morning son! And how are you this beautiful, crisp, colorful Fall morning? Bet the gold, topaz and ruby gems are really standing out these days! Dad and I took the three mile trip to Walmart yesterday afternoon. I could have probably picked up what I needed a lot closer, although I don't know, the local Walmart doesn't carry fabric so I doubt I could have found embroidery thread. But, I digress. Oh, hush, yes, I know that's normal for me. Anyway, we made our three mile trek. You cannot imagine the color. Oh wait, I guess you can. Anyway, the colors I had seen when I made the trip last week were enhanced by a hundred fold. I was so glad we made the jaunt so that dad could see. I picked up a few groceries and the red embroidery thread, can you believe they had a hundred colors (well almost) but no black embroidery thread? Anyway, on the trip home dad and I were talking about the colors that we see in this world. Just imagine. Why did God make colors? I mean He/She could just as easily have made the world and everything in it all black and white. I mean we were the last thing made so it's not like we would have noticed any difference. Everything could be in black and white and it would have appeared absolutely normal to our eyes. As I try to imagine the brilliance off color we experienced on on trip yesterday in black and white I just can't imagine missing it. The reds, golds, browns, greens and oranges. What would it have been like if God had left all those colors out and just made everything black and white? Would the world have appeared dull to us? How? If we had never experienced color, how would we have experienced dull? We definitely know the difference between bright and dull. I mean that's something that's pretty evident all around us, every day.

Research says that color, or lack thereof, can affect our very mood. I know it's true for me. I need light and windows so the light can get in. I need color to reflect the light. Just painting two accent walls blue in our living room has made a dramatic change in my view of the world outside. It's made a dramatic change in dad's view of our home. It's helped to make our home more of a home. It's adding those "special effects" if you will, that makes our home truly our home. Color enhances our surroundings. It helps our mood when we are surrounded by colors that we love. Color can give us energy. It can soothe. It can energize. Color works magic. What would our lives be like if our world were just black and white. Just picture the world every day after the sun set. The darkness. Picture your home painted totally in black and white. Now don't get me wrong, I love the contrast of black and white. But, because I've seen color, because I've experienced color, I certainly wouldn't want to be limited to a pallet of black and white only.

Don't you find it interesting where we find a variety of colors? Take for interest animals. I mean we have birds in an array of every color of the rainbow. Reds, yellows, blues greens, pinks, oranges, you name it, there are birds of every color. Now look at dogs. Why are they basically black, greys, browns and whites. Cows. When was the last time you saw a blue cow?  Why did God make some animals of every color and leave others in the most basic of colors? Why did He do that? Take Jamison for instance. Our Scottie dog Jamison. Not Jamison our great-nephew. Just want to clarify. He's brindle. A combination of black, white, grey and some undertones of browns. We just accept the fact that's the way God made him and we don't expect him to be blue or red or another color of the rainbow. You see where I'm going here right? I thought you might.

Let's move on to people. The people of the earth, that I believe, God created. Remember the song we use to sing, "The B-I-B-L-E"? One of the verses says, "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world"? God could have created all people black. Or white. Or red. Or yellow. But He didn't. He created multitudes of different colors and nationalities. Why? He knew we'd have problems with the different colors. He knew we'd have problems with different nationalities and yet He did it anyway. Why? If God created all the colors in the world for our joy and pleasure and the seasons for our joy and pleasure, why wouldn't we also believe that people of other colors and nations were not created for our joy and pleasure? We act as though adversity between those of nations and colors is something new. It's not. People have fought over color and nations since man (and I use this in the broadest sense) was created. But why? Why do we waste our time. Why don't we embrace the colors of nations and seeks to find the beauty in all? I believe God made us different, made us contrast for a reason. We could learn so much from each other, but just as with nations previous we spend more time fighting over the differences instead of embracing and learning from them. If we spent just a portion of the time embracing and celebrating the differences in colors and races as we do appreciating the colors and brilliance of the colors of the seasons God created. What a world of color and brilliance we would have.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. Enjoy the color and brilliance of the world you create around you. Embrace the colors and encourage the ways they can reflect the light when they are encouraged to do so.

Until next week, be Aaron, love mom