I have this book in my grandkid room, thanks to a very special friend (Hi Lynne!). It’s new to Lilli, and honestly, I haven’t read it in many years.

After an evening of tractor rides and feeding the horses with her Aunt Maddie (her new favorite activity), and a quick dip in the pool, we went through the bedtime rituals of bath and teeth-brushing, and found ourselves curled up together in the rocking chair with Harold and his purple crayon.

He starts out deciding to take a walk in the moonlight, and because there is no moonlight at the moment, or a path to walk on, he draws both with his crayon. When he desires to walk through the forest, he draws a tree, but only one because he doesn’t want to get lost. He continues on his journey, drawing what he wants to see, and even drawing a picnic lunch of 9 delicious pies when he gets hungry, until he feels tired and starts to look for his own window with his own bed.

But, try as he might, he can’t find it. So, remembering that his window frames the moon, he draws a window that frames the moon he drew…the moon that has been faithful to follow him throughout his whole journey. Then, after he drew a bed near that window, he drew the covers up to his chin and went fast to sleep.

Lilli loved it, and after she was fast asleep, thoughts of Harold kept rumbling around in my brain. Certainly it is a story that teaches children about the power of imagination, and how they can go anywhere and do anything if they but think it into reality in their minds. But, for me, I was struck by how Harold decided he wanted to do something, and without waiting for it to happen, he went out and made it happen. Harold was proactive. I admire that.

I have a cousin who, though she struggles with pretty extreme shyness, decided that her life wasn’t going the direction of what she’d dreamed it would go. Instead of saying there was no way, or it just couldn’t happen, she took the necessary steps to make it happen. I’m not talking small steps, either. She made drastic life changes and sold everything she owned to go and live in another country, to make her life look more like what she’d imagined all along. She put her self in uncomfortable situations to face her battle with shyness, and opened herself to a world of human beings she’d never experienced. Girlfriend has gumption and guts to draw a different colored life for herself and turn everything around. Like Harold, she was proactive, and again, I was filled with admiration.

You see, I don’t happen to be a terribly proactive person. Oh, I am in some areas, I guess. But, overall, I tend to wait for my life to happen. It’s not a characteristic about myself that I’m crazy for, let me just say, but it takes a lot for me to grab a crayon and start drawing a different picture. Even when the One who’s painting the picture in my mind and handing me that little purple beauty, even when He’s the One nudging me toward the blank page, I tend to wait for Him to draw everything for me, in great detail, to I can see exactly where to go and what to do. And you know what?

I trade picnics with 9 delicious pies for the same old peanut butter sandwich I’ve been eating for years.

I’m thankful for the opportunity, everyday, to be proactive. Today’s the day to start, folks. If our lives are not looking exactly as we imagined, God may be nudging us toward a different picture. Pray about it. See what He’s asking, then ask Him for some gumption and guts, and grab your purple crayon. He’ll be faithful as the moon to light your journey. Oh, and I’m joining you. In fact, I’ll meet you under the one tree in that forest, and I’ll bring a picnic blanket.

You bring the pie.

“For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.” Ecclesiastes 5:3 ESV

“He said, ‘That’s what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.” Luke 19:26 MSG (Read the whole parable here)