Is That White?

I am tired. I've been painting a small area of my house... white. Doug did all the drywall, and I painted on the sealer. He found the white paint that we thought was the paint that we used on the rest of the house. As I began to paint we could see that this paint was not the same color. It was a dark white. Okay, it will work for the first coat. We decided after that coat we would to go to Lowe's Building Supplies for more paint... more white-white paint.

At the store we ask what's the difference in the white paints. We look at the samples: whitest white-white? Antique white-white? Off white-white?

I decide that it must be the whitest white-white because I don't think I would be happy with a dingy white. We bring home the whitest white. It's way too white! But I go ahead and paint the whole area anyway, it's so much nicer than what is there. After I was done I stood back and looked. Decided this is not going to work.

We go back to find the right white. This trip Doug has cut off a bit of the old painted wall (behind the trim) and we present it to the lady behind the counter. We need this kind of white paint. She looks. She compares. This must be the right white (the dingy white that I didn't want the first time). We all compare. Not quite right, is it? She says, "I can match it for you. Would you like me to do that?" "Okay! Yes! Let's do that," I said.

She goes over to her paint matching computer. I am impressed as I watch. The program tells her the color we want, so she mixes some new paint up. She dabs the paint on the small sample we brought in. Too dark! Okay, she lightens it, that is pretty good. That looks right.

I came home and painted... it is still not right, too dark, but I am tired and it's gonna have to do.

As I paint over the whitest white I am thinking of all the different whites. The first white, it looked like the right white... but it wasn't. It was totally wrong when put up beside the white we already had at home.

Reminds me of patterning my life after what looks right... to me it looks right, to others it looks right... but when stood up in the light of God's word, it's just not right.

Guess what in my house I have painted this color? It is a robin egg blue color, at least what I think is robin egg blue...