Sometimes when I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious, I’ll grab a piece of paper and write. Or sketch. Hanging out with the guys in the church’s coffee bar, I grabbed my bulletin and began drawing. And relaxing as I exercised control over the crude lines developing on the page…
This afternoon I was stressed by some less-than-enjoyable aspects of a work project. I went outside to take a break, where a view of the barn caught my eye. I grabbed my camera. Holding it began to ease my stress level. The energy of capturing what I was seeing flowed through my body. Creative desire had been sparked in my heart.
Afterwards I enjoyed searching for meaning in the resulting image:
An expression of the gentle interplay between light and shadow, while a freshly painted gate vies for attention with its startling whiteness. Although the gate’s clean sculptural lines forces one’s notice, the heartbeat of the photo lies deeper….
Yes, I was enjoying creative fun for no real purpose!
How often do we give ourselves to the enjoyment of creativity?
Creativity is one of God’s characteristics. He so enjoys being creative that He gifted each of us to share that pleasure with Him. Creativity expresses itself in as many forms as there are people. While we commonly think of creativity being limited to “the Arts”, it is so much more. Creativity is seen in:
- the teacher who captures her students’ interest with the lesson’s subject matter.
- the farmer who studies his land determining how to maximize its productivity.
- the car wash attendant who takes pride in every swipe of his cloth on countless vehicles.
- the parent who studies his or her child to determine unique ways to help guide that child’s development.
We all have the opportunity to be creative!
Why do we wait?
Do we think we must have some grand purpose or inspiration before employing creativity?
Think about God’s creativity that doesn’t seem to require grandiose meaning. He plants wild flowers where they will fade before human eyes ever catch sight of them. He goes to the trouble of creating each snowflake with its own unique shape, even though He knows that to our eyes they all look identical.
Think about God’s creativity that goes far beyond anything “reasonable”. After all, He’s the One who creates planets and galaxies that will never be discovered and known. As my friend Jennifer says, “THAT kind of creativity is displayed, keeping OUR creativity flowing, imagining what COULD be out there!”
God is creative because that is Who He Is. And He enjoys being Himself.
Let’s give ourselves that same freedom. Enjoy your creativity today.
Enjoy being you!
My analysis of my barn photo may be total nonsense. But it was fun dreaming it up. And admit it, you looked at that photo a little longer than you would have otherwise!
Leave a Reply