The History of Pink

Euro Style Lighting

You remember how my favorite color's pink? Well, if not, I've loved pink since I was tiny and would point out every pink item in the store. For being patient in the face of that, my mom deserves a medal. I remember pointing and touching everything from candy to negligees in all shades of pink. Later on, I heard yellow was considered the happiest color and I disagreed. What could possibly be happier than a cotton candy shade of pink? It has the brightness of happiness, but it also a soft, comforting side that yellow lacks. My point being, for me, pink is the happiest color I can see. Which is why it didn't matter to me that it wasn't cool to say it was my favorite color in seventh grade. My girlfriends liked navy and forest green. Pink was officially out. 

But pink made a huge comeback in 2002. Every ad you saw was pink, and I cheered. While it's quieted down since then, the appeal seems to have lingered because now it's creating a place for itself in home decor. Not just the fancy ladies that throw caution to the wind and don't care who hates their house, but others. Now there are tasteful rugs and lamps available in pink. Which is hard on a girl like me...

My Come Inside Pinterest board morphed from a pretty neutral pallet to all-things-pink. And some gold, which happens to look great with pink! I've tried to content myself with the pink I've got going in our bedroom... 

I've even reminded myself there are touches of it in the guest room...

And yet, I don't spend very much time in those rooms, especially now that the guest room isn't a school room. After finishing the bookcases last week, I started teetering. I was flirting with making some changes to my living room and the thought terrified me because the holidays are coming and that's not the time fit a major makeover into the budget. Over the weekend, I uttered these words to Brian, "I'm out of love with my throw pillows." (Because that's where most of the color was concentrated.)

He said, "I'm not surprised," in his mellow, I-like-you voice. That was lovely, but it pained me to think of spending money and the stuff turn-over that could ensue. It goes against all my no-spending, minimalist thinking. Those two ideas fight against my urge to change things, but here it was again, pounding on my heart's door. I longed for more pink, not just on my Pinterest board, but in my living room which is also my favorite place to be. 

This is when I wonder what God thinks about me and my fickle urges. What does he think of all my "new" good ideas? Does he wish that part of me away? But then I realize that's silly because he could've left it out, like I don't put nuts in my chocolate chip cookies. So maybe my love for visual variety is alright with him. Maybe it's even his favorite part of me. Sure he likes that I'm frugal and attempt to repurpose stuff, but maybe he loves to see the joy I feel when the new look is assembled. When I "get it right" and sit down to enjoy it and soak it in, I feel his love. 

Am I a slave to fashion and a mindless chaser? I hope not. But I know as a girl, my sisters and I would restyle our bedroom, choosing different blankets for our beds and different toys to display. We weren't driven by styles or projected colors. We just felt refreshed when we created something new and beautiful. Maybe that's what's happening now. I'm going to stop tormenting myself with these accusing questions and let myself be myself. Like I did when I hung onto pink, just because it made me happy. 

What do you struggle to accept about yourself? What whims and desires do you write off as impractical and pointless - even counter-productive? Maybe they're how you can play, now that you're grown. Maybe the only way we'll ever learn that God loves us just for us, and not what we do, is in play. If we can feel his smile when we're not producing, maybe the crazy notion of unconditional love will finally click.

In the next few posts, I'll be sharing how my living room is getting pink-ified. So visit again if you'd like to see what I'm talking about or if you'd like me to email you when there's a new post, just put your email in the box below my photo.