Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: It's a Colorful World (12/03/09)
-
TITLE: A Story For My Grandchildren | Previous Challenge Entry
By Susan Gurney
12/09/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
The children suddenly burst into my room, with Talia and Jamie practically pushing Sarah against me as I sat in my rocking chair. “Well, what a nice treat,” I said, “all my grandchildren visiting me at once!”
“Sarah, ask her!” urged Talia in a stage whisper.
“Yes, Sarah, ask her,” Jamie taunted in a louder voice, as he gave both girls a poke.
“Quit poking, Jamie!” both girls shouted together.
“Ask me what, Sarah, dear?” I quietly said as I pulled the little girl onto my lap and snuggled her close.
“Gramma, can you tell me a story? A story about colors, ‘cause Jamie said you could tell a really good story about all the pretty colors we see! Please, Gramma, tell me a story about colors!”
“Hmmm,” I said quietly as I shot a look towards Jamie and Talia snickering a few feet away, “so Jamie said I could tell a story about all the pretty colors we can see, did he? Alright, I’ll tell a story about colors, but all three of you have to help me.”
“Yeah!” cheered Sarah, as Jamie and Talia softly groaned in the background.
“Well...” I paused, thinking how best to begin, “once upon a time there was a lady name Cynthia who loved to paint pictures of God’s creation…”
Sarah asked, “Pictures of what?”
“Oh, just everything: birds, cows, people, trees, oranges, flowers, rocks, lakes, seashells, grass, the ocean—anything that God made.”
“Was she a good painter, ummm….artist, Grandma?” asked Talia.
“Not so much at first, but she got better with time. You know the old saying, ‘practice makes perfect’! Well, she never did get ‘perfect’, but she at least got to where she could make a rock look like a rock, and a cow look like a cow!”
“I suppose she painted pictures of purple cows and green people, right?” Jamie sarcastically mused.
“Oh, no,” I said, “she always tried to mix her paint just right so that the picture she was painting would have the same colors as what she seeing. So if she were painting a picture of a pumpkin patch, what colors would she have used, Sarah?”
“I know! I know! --Orange, and brown for the dirt…and green for the leaves!”
“That’s right, Sarah. –And if she were painting a picture of the ocean and seashore what are some of the colors she might have used, Talia?”
“Hmmm,” said Talia, “probably shades of gray, black and brown for the rocks, sand, birds and seashells…and maybe blues and greens for water; and white for the sea foam…”
“And don’t forget, pink, purple, orange and red for the sky!” said Jamie.
“What?!” cried Talia and Sarah as Jamie blushed red.
“That’s right, Jamie,” I quickly said, “those are perfect colors for painting a sunset sky over the Pacific Ocean.”
“Anyway,” I continued, “Cynthia loved trying to capture the God’s beautiful colors in her paintings. In fact, after she had a family of her own and was too busy to paint, she was still collecting colors in her mind—the dozens of shades of green of a spring forest, the shades of brown, rust, orange, yellow, purple and red of the leaves turning in the fall, the blush of pink on the cheeks of a newborn baby…”
Just then there was a knock at the door and my daughter called, “It’s lunchtime, everyone.”
“We’re coming, Mom,” called Talia.
“Let me help you, Grandma Cindy,” said Jamie as he took my elbow. “I know it’s not easy for you to get around when you can’t see…ummm…and I’m sorry about putting Sarah up to the color story. I hope it didn’t make you feel bad.”
“That’s alright, Jamie. No harm done. –And you know what? It felt really good to dust off those colors in my mind and take another look at them!”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
