Color Outside the Lines

I have a very clear, distinct memory of being taught to color inside the lines. When I say "clear," I don't mean in the sense of the details-- for instance, I don't remember how old I was or whether it was my mom or my dad (I think it was my dad). But the feeling of enlightenment, empowerment, and freedom I felt has amazing clarity. I know that most kids feel restricted and their artistic expression is short-circuited when they are told to color inside the lines. For me, however, the instruction to color inside the lines gave meaning and purpose to what I was doing. All of a sudden, I was able to see the picture and the whole process of coloring made sense.

Now, however, I feel an urge to go grab a coloring book and scribble everywhere but inside the lines (my artistic growth seems to lag significantly behind the average 5-year old). Once you know the rules and respect the rules, you can break them appropriately.

I've experienced the same thing with spiritual formation. There were general rules for spiritual formation that were good during certain phases of my spiritual growth- I followed the rules for prayer, the rules for quiet time, the rules for sharing my faith. Those rules brought growth and understanding. Now, however, I feel like some of those rules need to be broken in appropriate ways. We never stop praying or reading or confessing, or evangelizing. But maybe those "rules" for the right way of doing it that brought such tremendous formation in the early days of my Christ-following adventures will not allow the full expression of my faith and who God created me to become to come forward.

Now, this is making me think about classical physics and quantum (or "modern) physics. Classical physics is incomplete, but it's still taught because it enriches our understanding of quantum physics. Okay, that has the potential to make my brain hurt. Where can I find a coloring book?