A PAINTBRUSH FOR GOD | KAIROS GLOBAL | NOVEMBER 2022

Author: Ashish Rozario

Intro: Kairos Global’s designer, Ashish Rozario talks of his journey from a first-grader unable to draw to head of a creative agency.

My journey, from not being able to draw a mango in my first standard to head a creative agency as Creative Director, has

been filled with God’s blessings and his immense grace.

From the beginning, it was a challenge for me to do basic drawing. Most of the children in my class were good at it. My weakness disappointed me for a while but I was inquisitive about why I was unable to do such a simple task, so I started observing things and nature around me. Soon I developed an observant eye towards my surroundings. This gradually helped me develop my skill of art to a level where I was the most sought after student in school for any art related task. I won first position in many intra and inter-school art competitions. 

I realised that God had blessed me with the gift of creativity and always sought his direction in delving deeper into the world of art and creativity. Whenever I wanted to try or create something extraordinary, I always sought his inspiration and excelled in it. That is how I decided to pursue applied arts and make it my career. 

In spite of my substandard final grades, I never lost hope in the providence of God but kept on praying for his grace and blessings for my future. My parents were really worried about me. Those days of uncertainty were the best days of my relationship with Jesus. I learnt how to surrender myself completely into the hands of Jesus, just keep calm, work hard and wait patiently for him to act. This verse from the Bible opened my eyes towards true faith in God, Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).

God’s promises granted me peace and later an unexpected job offer in one of the most prestigious media agencies of the country, the India Today Group. It was a pleasant surprise for my family and even me to see this chapter of my life unfolding. It truly proved the providence of God.

Since I was self-taught in this field and had no formal education in communication design, I initially felt naive at work, but I always surrendered my work and knowledge to Jesus in prayer before I started any project, which helped me get inspiration and make my work stand out. My work got recognised by many top and influential professionals within the media community. I always strived to deliver the highest quality of work by whatever means possible. I never cut corners to complete my work, and always aimed for perfection. For me, my work was a form of prayer offering to Jesus who gave me the knowledge and provided for all that I needed.

Till date I follow the same philosophy of work. I prefer starting my work with a blank canvas without any reference or template, I let him take control of my senses. I draw parallels here with spirituality where one needs to empty one’s heart and mind from presumptions, disturbances, worries, anxieties and leave space for God to take control and work wonders in your life.

As I surrendered more of myself, my talents and my constant hard work to God, he gradually multiplied them, opened my mind to grasp more and widened my horizons. Later I went on to work with several reputed media firms and advertising agencies to direct and execute a plethora of creatives ranging from magazine design, premium photo-books, cover and editorial photography, product design, corporate branding, to design trainings, lectures, talent building, music production, video production, and so on...

The more I let go of myself and let God take control, the more he helped me excel in every field of creativity. All the knowledge that I have gained today is because of the grace of God, he kept my childhood trait of keen observation alive even today.

This confidence and trust in God’s providence has helped me to establish a creative agency through which we now provide a wide range of creative services panning visual and aural communications. One has to keep on striving and have an open mind to learn more every day to achieve perfection in one’s professional and spiritual life. 

I firmly believe we should offer our skills, talents, knowledge, efforts and spirituality to God as our gifts/prayers to him so that he can take control and make us grow in them and in his love, that he can refine us to make us like gold.

Matthew 25:14-30 tells us how God expects us to work on our talents and use them for the glory of God irrespective of the nature of talent, skill, gender, age, knowledge, etc., so that we receive more from him and value his love for us, For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance (Matthew 25:29).

This has been my driving force and the reason to achieve the best for the One who is the best of the best. Now when I look back and count my blessings, I realise how God has multiplied my one talent to more than forty different talents of creativity. Which is why I always remind myself to remain just a paintbrush in the hands of God so that he can create his masterpiece.

Ashish Rozario is a creative director with Mustard Tree. A passionate cook, lives in Delhi, India with his wife and two children. Also the co-founder and music director with the Jesus Youth band- 'Acts of the Apostles'.