DRAGON SKETCH
By: Tara Rye

“Mom, will you please teach me how to draw a dragon?”

Obviously, Grant needed some mom time all to himself. “Of course, Grant!”

Grant and I gathered the paper and pencils needed, as we went to the computer to research pencil sketches of dragons. It did not take us long to find the perfect image for us to draw.

“Okay Grant, the first thing we will do is lightly sketch out the shape of his face using simple circles and squares. It is important we focus in on the proportions of the shapes. This will keep the image realistic.”

Grant lifted his pencil and began to draw the head and jaw line. Slowly, we patterned out where the eye, teeth and even long horns flowing from his head loosely on the paper. The sketch took form and the idea of a dragon began to take shape.

“You know Grant drawing is something that takes time. If you want a picture to be beautiful, you must fill in details. This requires patience.”

Grant nodded his little head as his brow furrowed with deep concentration as he penciled in the dragon scales. After an hour of drawing, I suggest we take a break and work on it later. We walk away from our dragons and focus on other things. It did not take long before the call to visit his dragon tugged on Grant’s heart. “Mom, do you think we should…” His little pause told me he did not want to me to say no and he hoped that I wanted to do what he wanted to do. “Sure, let’s go draw.”

“Grant, since the details will make the dragon come alive I will now show you how to make the scales look like the light is shining on them. We will darken in the far left edges with a scratchy dark line. As we move to the far right in the scale, we will lighten our touch on our pencil to create a reflection effect.”

Grant’s tongue pressed against his lips as he slowly filled in each scale. “I only have twenty-eight more scales to fill in.” After coloring in nearly a hundred scales, what is twenty-eight more? With each scales completion the dragon began to move on the page. With only the flowing horns left to fill in, Grant’s anticipation was palatable. “Mom, how do I make the horns?”

“This is the same as the scales, but you will shade from the bottom to the top. Once you have the shadow effect then add a small curved line along the base. This will give it a rounded feel to it.”

“You know mom, when we started this I thought the first sketch of my dragon was ugly. It was only lines and it didn’t look right. But now that the details are added I love my dragon. He is beautiful.”

“Grant, you are so right. This reminds me of our relationship with God. When we first ask Jesus to be our Savior we can only see the simple sketch of what our life is to look like in Christ. But the more we study God’s Word and allow Him to show us the details of how we are to live our lives we discover that our lives in Christ are more beautiful than we can ever imagine.”

I am wondering. Where in your life do you have a simple sketch, yet you desire to see the live image of what is to come? Ask the Father to fill in the details for you so that you can see the beauty of His plan. The details He will add are immeasurably more than you can imagine!


42 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! 43 The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. 1 Corinthians 15:42-43/The Message

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21