“God’s Coloring Book”
My younger sister, Betty, is always putting positive things on her Facebook page. Recently she shared the words to one of Dolly Parton’s songs called “God’s Coloring Book.” I had never heard of the song but the words certainly struck a chord in my heart. Commenting on this song, Dolly wrote “’God’s Coloring Book’ expresses my spirituality and explains my connection with God.” She went on to say, “When I see nature’s colors, that’s when I am closest to Him.” If you are not familiar with this song, here are the lyrics:
Today as I was walking
In the fields just down the way
I sat down on a fallen log
To pass the time away
And as I looked around me
The more that I did look
The more I realize that I am viewing
God’s coloring book
I saw a golden ray of sunlight
A silver drop of dew
A soft, white floating cloud
Sailing cross the sky ‘a blue
A yellow dandelion
Pretty evergreen
And some red and orange flowers
Growing wild along the stream
And the more I look around me
And the more that I do look
The more I realize that I am viewing
God’s coloring book
The greyness in an old man’s hair
The pink in baby’s cheeks
The blackness in a stormy sky
The brown in fallen leaves
And the multicolored rainbow
Stretched out across the sky
And the purple haze at sunset
Just before the night
And the more I look around me
And the more that I do look
The more I realize that I am viewing
God’s coloring book
Then I turn my face toward the sky
And say a silent prayer
Though God doesn’t speak to me
I see him everywhere
He is all around me
He’s everywhere I look
And each new day is but a new page
In God’s coloring book
The song is as simple as it can be but quite profound at the same time. Dolly obviously has a keen awareness of God’s presence in nature. She says “I see Him everywhere” and recognizes that “He is all around me…everywhere I look.” I couldn’t help but notice that Dolly alludes to parts of nature both large and small. She sees God in sunbeams, clouds and evergreens, but also in the little flowers, fallen leaves and dewdrops. Furthermore, in the colors of nature Dolly sees the artistry of God. Today I find myself wishing that I had the eyes of Dolly Parton.
I often write on this site about nature being a “Second Book” of revelation. Until now I had not thought of that book being a coloring book. I like this metaphor and think that we might even benefit spiritually if we, too, could begin to see “each new day is but a new page in God’s coloring book.” Dolly Parton, who has made so many valuable contributions to the world, should also be thanked for helping us see the world in a whole new way.
–Chuck