Teenage Honesty

Dear Readers,

God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!

Have you ever noticed how honest teenagers can be?

It's rare to get our 14 year old son to talk to us, but every once in awhile it happens. This morning I needed an outside opinion on my painted prayers for Haiti #3, #4 and #5, so I asked our son to give me a quick critique before he left for school.

He took one look and said, "I like that one (#3). I don't like the green in that one (#5), but I like the tree. I like that one (#4) except that her face is kind of ugly."

I asked, "Do you dislike the shape of the green or the color."

He repied, "The color." (He doesn't seem to like green very much, at least not in my paintings, so I took that comment with a grain of salt.)

However, he was exactly right about the woman's face being kind of ugly. Why couldn't I see that? My husband didn't notice it when he looked at it. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I spent another hour or so, making the face prettier on prayer #4 and now I love the painting and I had serious qualms about it before, but I couldn't put my finger on why it was bothering me.

I wonder if he will still give me honest critiques when he becomes an adult. I hope so, because I find them helpful.

A lot of people in my life have criticized me for being "too sensitive!" OMGosh! I have heard that way more times than I can count!

However, when it comes to my art, I appreciate honesty, because I want to improve as much as possible. Of course there are criticisms that are not helpful, like, "That stinks!" But when it is sincere and specific it can be very enlightening!

Love, Sue