The Unfinished Snowflake

God’s reminder to me that the unfinished areas of my life are being perfected by Him and through Him

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. | Ephesians 2:8-10

Last Sunday afternoon, our family spent some time with my brother’s family for a little Christmas fun for our kids. Crafts were painted, cookies were decorated, and fun was had by all in celebration of the holiday season! The joy of the moment culminated with a healthy sampling of those decorated cookies and plenty of sugar and energy to burn for everyone. Who needs visions of sugar plums dancing in your head when you have sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles dancing in your belly… am I right?

These types of gatherings for our family can be a little tricky to navigate because of Isaac’s special needs. Whether it’s the impacts of Down syndrome, autism, sensory processing disorder or many other factors, the recipe of several kids, paints, crafts, cookies, icing and noise can produce unique challenges under the best of circumstances. But on this day, we found a happy place for Isaac, who later described the experience as “fun” while asking for “more” of everything, especially his gluten-free and dairy-free cookies.

He enjoyed his time spent painting his very own large snowflake craft. We chose a light blue paint for his snowflake and like he does with many other substances of a similar texture, he successfully managed to spread the paint with his paintbrush in his right hand while simultaneously enjoying the feel of the paint between his fingers on his left hand. It’s a temptation driven by a very specific sensory need that is difficult for him to avoid whether it’s paint, ketchup, salsa, applesauce, or anything else with a similar texture. It’s an interesting and sometimes entertaining sensory-driven world for Isaac and for all of us.

Nonetheless, his painting experience was time well spent despite him reaching his “all done” stage without completely covering the entire snowflake with paint. Most of the middle section of the snowflake had been painted and repainted and painted again. And there were some areas along the outside of the snowflake that were painted thoroughly but there were also outer portions that were untouched by the blue paint. No matter how strong the suggestions and encouragement from me for him to continue painting in those uncovered areas, his artist’s eye told him he was finished. And so, he was.

I gave the unfinished snowflake to Becky as I helped Isaac clean his hands, arms, and face from the blue paint. And I suggested to Becky that we should finish painting the snowflake for Isaac. Though she initially agreed, upon further reflection, she pushed back on that suggestion. She countered that the unfinished snowflake was Isaac’s craft and she reminded me that he painted it the way he preferred so we should leave it as it was. I didn’t give it much thought in that moment, so the snowflake was left in that unfinished state to reflect Isaac’s vision for it.

It wasn’t until a day later that I began to appreciate the imagery of that unfinished snowflake and was reminded by the Holy Spirit that in the same way it wasn’t my job to finish what Isaac had started, God also hasn’t called me to step in and add my final brush strokes to whatever He’s doing. That’s not my job.

The imagery of that snowflake as unfinished and very much in progress is a perfect view of my life. Though I’m absolutely saved by grace through faith in Christ, the process of sanctification for me is a daily journey of dying to self and hopefully, becoming a little more like Jesus with each day. But my life can often look and feel like that snowflake, with a lot of extra paint in some areas and little to no paint in others. But that’s the beauty of the Gospel. None of us are good enough painters to cover the sin in our lives on our own. And none of us are good enough in our own strength to live up to the standards of a perfectly painted life. We can’t do that job and we were never created for that job. And though I don’t always love the unfinished realities in this life, it doesn’t change who God is and the good he wants to do through those imperfections.

That’s why the message of Ephesians 2:8-10 is so powerful for me and you. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

My imperfect and unpainted life is fully restored and expertly painted through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Regardless of how much paint I add to my brush and how thorough I am with my effort and abilities, my snowflake will always have imperfections because I’m simply not a good enough artist. But God, the creator of the greatest beauty ever conceived, is more than good enough to accomplish it perfectly for us through Christ.  

What’s amazing about his plan for the unpainted and unfinished areas of our lives is that as God adds all the paint that is needed to our snowflakes, he’s also calling us to the purpose of displaying his beauty and goodness for others to see as we accomplish good things in this life for his glory. We belong to God and as followers of Jesus, we’re created for the works of this life prepared by God so that we can grow in our faith and bring attention to the name of Christ. From God’s perspective, which is the only perspective that really matters, my life has never been about me but instead is all about Him, the creator and sustainer of life.

In the same way that it wasn’t my job to complete what I viewed as incomplete in Isaac’s snowflake, it’s also not my job to overstep God or to move around Him to be the god of my life. My job is to faithfully follow him in accomplishing the things he has set aside for me because my life is about Him.

It is an ongoing process for me to be reminded of that truth and that purpose. And whether it’s through the reading of Scripture, through prayer, through the encouraging words of other followers of Jesus or through the imagery of an unfinished snowflake, I’m thankful for the numerous ways God reminds me of his love and his purpose for my life. And I’m thankful for the peace in knowing that my job isn’t be the god of my life. That’s God’s job.