The Art of Living Well: How To Paint a Life of Meaning
When journalist Bianca Bosker set out to understand the world of contemporary art, she took the opportunity to observe artist Julie Curtiss in her studio. She writes:
“Seeing Julie paint offered clues for how to look at a painting like an artist. I needed to slow down, examine its physical form, and consider the artist’s decisions. Because painting is constant decision-making.” (From Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker, p. 89)
It struck me that, in this sense, the process of painting is just like the process of living our daily lives.
Each morning, we wake to a blank canvas and every decision we make is a brushstroke. We hope to create something beautiful with the days that make up our lives, something meaningful and lasting. But like artists, we are constrained by limitations. We all have 24 hours in a day—like the frame around a canvas, our choices are bracketed by time and space.
Within that frame, however, we have lots of freedom. Artists have a plethora of colors and tools and media to choose from. Similarly, our decisions about how to spend our time can take us in a thousand different directions. And our decisions are governed—consciously or not—by what we value.
If productivity and efficiency are prized, then we will pack our days full, leaving no white space on the canvas. If presence is the goal, we’ll make room to slow down, to be surprised. We’ll make different decisions based on whether we want to invest in relationships or the stock market, whether to pursue joy or achievement, whether to consume or create, whether to prioritize future or immediate gratification.
Often, we mix both choices to create a new in-between color. The truth is: our daily decisions shape our lives.
But for as much agency as we have, we must also acknowledge that we are not in control. Life has a way of throwing us curveballs: we face the unexpected, we must meet unanticipated needs, and interruptions derail our carefully laid plans. Loving other people is a guarantee that this will happen.
Jen Pollock Michel notes: “To belong to one another is to suffer the loss of independence, the loss of protected, cherished time.” (From In Good Time, by Jen Pollock Michel, p. 103)
That means that often, the picture we have of our day (or our lives) in our head isn’t the one that ends up on the canvas. There is freedom in surrendering to reality. On the threshold of a new day, a new week, a new year, we pray for the wisdom to decide well and trust God when decisions seem to be made for us.
How can we do this, practically speaking?
1. Name our limitations
Our personal limitations are like the four-sided frame around our canvas. Just as God gave limits to land and sea, day and night, so too did God create us with limitations. We are creatures who cannot survive without sleep, water, and food. Everyone is limited by the number of hours in the day, and by our place and time in history. We were not made to be limitless, and so we must learn to embrace our limits instead of seeing them as the enemy.
One way that we can make wise decisions around our use of time is to name and respect our personal and particular limits in whatever season of life we happen to be. Maybe those limitations include a chronic illness, or intense care-giving. Maybe the limitations center around our kids’ schedules and our hours at work. When we try to push past our natural limitations, we end up hurried and harried, exhausted and burned out.
It can feel discouraging when our free time shrinks to nonexistent, but the good news is that our Creator is limitless, and God transcends our limits to be with us in the here and now. God can work in and through our limits. Like author Ashley Hales says:
“We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it.” (From A Spacious Life, by Ashley Hales, p. 32)
2. Honor our capacity
Painters do not have an infinite amount of paint to use: they are constrained by what’s in their supply. Similarly, what we can handle and take on is constrained by our capacity. Our energy levels, our mental and physical health, and our season of life determines our capacity. And this differs person to person so it can be easy to fall into a comparison trap. It might seem like our friends are handling everything well, able to do all the things we wish we had time for. But the truth is, when we are faced with an opportunity, we must decide whether we have the time and energy to devote to it. We might be wise with our yeses and nos.
Jesus knows what we can carry and he isn’t withholding his approval if what we can carry right now is less than our neighbor. Honoring our capacity is a way to steward our time and our energy.
3. Identify our values and priorities
Just like painters pick and mix their colors based on the vision they have for their painting, we too shape our days around our values and priorities. When we are intentional about naming what those values are, they can help guide our daily decisions and determine our priorities.
Our values can be a lens through which we evaluate opportunities that come our way. If someone values hospitality, they might protect their Sunday afternoons so they can invite others to share a meal with them. If someone values self-care, they will prioritize rest—turning down invitations that would keep them up too late. If someone values friendship, they will prioritize spending time with a friend instead of getting more work done.
What is important to you during this stage or season of life? Let those values guide your decisions around time.
4. Let go and make room for God
Every painter is influenced by art and artists they love, inspired by great artworks they have seen. In the same way, followers of Jesus are inspired by our relationship with God. We want our lives to honor God, and we want to partner with God in kingdom-building work, so we want to be influenced by the Holy Spirit.
We pick up our daily paintbrush and pray that God would guide our brushstrokes. We leave room for the possibility of interruptions, mistakes, and unexpected sharp turns. We trust that God can turn our mess into something beautiful. We trust that God’s fingerprints are all over our painting, even if what we see on the canvas doesn’t match the vision we had in our head.
This is perhaps the hardest part, especially for those of us who like to cling tightly to the reins of control. Can we pray over our daily to-do lists, our weekly schedules, our New Year’s goal and intentions? Can we get quiet, listening for the nudges and prodding of the Holy Spirit? Can we soak in God’s word, letting the truth of God’s love and goodness be the backdrop against which we make our decisions? I pray it would be so as I pick up my paintbrush and live another day.
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to invite you to dive deeper into making the most of your God-given time. When you subscribe to my blog, you’ll receive a FREE digital copy of my book Around the Clock Mom: Make the Most of Your God-Given Time. It’s filled with practical tips and encouragement to help you steward your time wisely and live a life of purpose. https://sarahkbutterfield.com/book/
“Seeing Julie paint offered clues for how to look at a painting like an artist. I needed to slow down, examine its physical form, and consider the artist’s decisions. Because painting is constant decision-making.” (From Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker, p. 89)
It struck me that, in this sense, the process of painting is just like the process of living our daily lives.
Each morning, we wake to a blank canvas and every decision we make is a brushstroke. We hope to create something beautiful with the days that make up our lives, something meaningful and lasting. But like artists, we are constrained by limitations. We all have 24 hours in a day—like the frame around a canvas, our choices are bracketed by time and space.
Within that frame, however, we have lots of freedom. Artists have a plethora of colors and tools and media to choose from. Similarly, our decisions about how to spend our time can take us in a thousand different directions. And our decisions are governed—consciously or not—by what we value.
If productivity and efficiency are prized, then we will pack our days full, leaving no white space on the canvas. If presence is the goal, we’ll make room to slow down, to be surprised. We’ll make different decisions based on whether we want to invest in relationships or the stock market, whether to pursue joy or achievement, whether to consume or create, whether to prioritize future or immediate gratification.
Often, we mix both choices to create a new in-between color. The truth is: our daily decisions shape our lives.
But for as much agency as we have, we must also acknowledge that we are not in control. Life has a way of throwing us curveballs: we face the unexpected, we must meet unanticipated needs, and interruptions derail our carefully laid plans. Loving other people is a guarantee that this will happen.
Jen Pollock Michel notes: “To belong to one another is to suffer the loss of independence, the loss of protected, cherished time.” (From In Good Time, by Jen Pollock Michel, p. 103)
That means that often, the picture we have of our day (or our lives) in our head isn’t the one that ends up on the canvas. There is freedom in surrendering to reality. On the threshold of a new day, a new week, a new year, we pray for the wisdom to decide well and trust God when decisions seem to be made for us.
How can we do this, practically speaking?
1. Name our limitations
Our personal limitations are like the four-sided frame around our canvas. Just as God gave limits to land and sea, day and night, so too did God create us with limitations. We are creatures who cannot survive without sleep, water, and food. Everyone is limited by the number of hours in the day, and by our place and time in history. We were not made to be limitless, and so we must learn to embrace our limits instead of seeing them as the enemy.
One way that we can make wise decisions around our use of time is to name and respect our personal and particular limits in whatever season of life we happen to be. Maybe those limitations include a chronic illness, or intense care-giving. Maybe the limitations center around our kids’ schedules and our hours at work. When we try to push past our natural limitations, we end up hurried and harried, exhausted and burned out.
It can feel discouraging when our free time shrinks to nonexistent, but the good news is that our Creator is limitless, and God transcends our limits to be with us in the here and now. God can work in and through our limits. Like author Ashley Hales says:
“We must learn to see our limits as the entrance into the good life, not what bars us from it.” (From A Spacious Life, by Ashley Hales, p. 32)
2. Honor our capacity
Painters do not have an infinite amount of paint to use: they are constrained by what’s in their supply. Similarly, what we can handle and take on is constrained by our capacity. Our energy levels, our mental and physical health, and our season of life determines our capacity. And this differs person to person so it can be easy to fall into a comparison trap. It might seem like our friends are handling everything well, able to do all the things we wish we had time for. But the truth is, when we are faced with an opportunity, we must decide whether we have the time and energy to devote to it. We might be wise with our yeses and nos.
Jesus knows what we can carry and he isn’t withholding his approval if what we can carry right now is less than our neighbor. Honoring our capacity is a way to steward our time and our energy.
3. Identify our values and priorities
Just like painters pick and mix their colors based on the vision they have for their painting, we too shape our days around our values and priorities. When we are intentional about naming what those values are, they can help guide our daily decisions and determine our priorities.
Our values can be a lens through which we evaluate opportunities that come our way. If someone values hospitality, they might protect their Sunday afternoons so they can invite others to share a meal with them. If someone values self-care, they will prioritize rest—turning down invitations that would keep them up too late. If someone values friendship, they will prioritize spending time with a friend instead of getting more work done.
What is important to you during this stage or season of life? Let those values guide your decisions around time.
4. Let go and make room for God
Every painter is influenced by art and artists they love, inspired by great artworks they have seen. In the same way, followers of Jesus are inspired by our relationship with God. We want our lives to honor God, and we want to partner with God in kingdom-building work, so we want to be influenced by the Holy Spirit.
We pick up our daily paintbrush and pray that God would guide our brushstrokes. We leave room for the possibility of interruptions, mistakes, and unexpected sharp turns. We trust that God can turn our mess into something beautiful. We trust that God’s fingerprints are all over our painting, even if what we see on the canvas doesn’t match the vision we had in our head.
This is perhaps the hardest part, especially for those of us who like to cling tightly to the reins of control. Can we pray over our daily to-do lists, our weekly schedules, our New Year’s goal and intentions? Can we get quiet, listening for the nudges and prodding of the Holy Spirit? Can we soak in God’s word, letting the truth of God’s love and goodness be the backdrop against which we make our decisions? I pray it would be so as I pick up my paintbrush and live another day.
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to invite you to dive deeper into making the most of your God-given time. When you subscribe to my blog, you’ll receive a FREE digital copy of my book Around the Clock Mom: Make the Most of Your God-Given Time. It’s filled with practical tips and encouragement to help you steward your time wisely and live a life of purpose. https://sarahkbutterfield.com/book/
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