Coloring between the lines, or not

"Julie, how was school today?" Julie's dad, John, asked his prekindergarten daughter.

He thought she looked rather dejected and sad. Her little face seemed drawn, and Julie appeared to be exhausted.

"Oh, dad," the little girl said, "I had a bad day."

"Why, what happened?" asked the concerned parent because Julie was usually in a happy, bubbly mood after school. He wondered what the problem was.

"Well," Julie said, "We had to color between the lines!"

John felt sympathetic toward her and told her things would get better. She could do it eventually.

Julie's dilemma seems trite and funny and especially sweet, but it contains a lot of wisdom.

Don't adults have to "color between the lines?"

Life is a succession of staying within the lines.

Lines are like parameters -- obeying rules, measuring up to expectations, attaining degrees needed for particular vocations or occupations -- and doing what you have to do. Almost anything requires that you stay within its demands.

In other words, you have to paint your story on life's canvas by coloring between certain lines, just as Julie was required to do. You're unable, usually, to do exactly what you like.

If you observe the rules -- of what is demanded or expected -- your endeavor turns out as it should.

But if you're sloppy in your performance, the end result will be anything but beautiful. Rather your real-life portrait will be wavy, haphazard and ugly. Yes, you too, have to stay between some types of a line.

As I drove down a local street, recently, the young boy, Jimmy, who was riding with me became impatient to get to where we were going. We were hitting every red light in town, it seemed. He squirmed in his seat every time we had to stop.

"Why do they have traffic lights, anyway?" he asked in an angry tone. "If they didn't, we could just go right on through. Look how much time this is taking." Then, "I wish we didn't even have traffic lights."

Traffic was fast and furious that day and I shuddered to think what driving would have been like without the assistance of lights.

"Jimmy" I said, offering my unsolicited explanation to the boy. "If we didn't have streetlights to tell us when to stop and when to go, we would have lots of accidents. Just look at all these automobiles. They would all crash into each other without their having to take turns stopping and starting. Some individuals would be unwilling to take turns if rules and laws were not in place to require them to."

I'm unsure if Jimmy agreed with my treatise on traveling, but he became quiet. The prospect of numerous motor vehicles colliding seemed to sink unfavorably into his 11-year-old mentality.

He did not complain again!

Whether you're a patient who's very ill and must stay in the hospital for an extended time, or someone who's very healthy, you must stay observe particular criteria. If you're a patient you have to obey what the physician tells you in order to become well. If you're healthy there are certain guidelines you have to stay within, also. You must eat sensibly and exercise to name a couple. If you become lax and allow unhealthy habits to creep into your health regime, your lines will become unstable and ugly. You will no longer be well.

Even God saw reason to insert guidelines so men of God could be competent. 2 Timothy 3: 16--17 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."

Just as Julie was asked to color between lines so her image would be accurate and beautiful, the same holds true for everything we encounter in life.

Regardless of what one tackles he has to "color between designated lines."