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Not everybody feels they have the ability to create.
I disagree. I believe we all have the ability to construct something positive from whatever materials we have to work with.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth . . .
—Genesis 1:1
When we look up at a star-studded sky or watch the first rays of the sun rise above the curve of the earth or stop to appreciate a panoramic stunning display of clouds colored by a setting sun, we are silenced and awed by the beauty we see. It is God’s masterpiece revealed to us every day in some way.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . .”
—Genesis 1:26
And then God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life . . .
—Genesis 2:7
Did we receive some of that ability to create when God breathed life into us?
I believe we did. Okay, not everyone can create great cathedrals with spires rising to the sky or intricate carvings or giant monuments.
But every day we are creating something of importance.
We are creating relationships as we reach out to one another with care and concern.
We are creating tolerance as we look at one another as individuals with the same troubles and worries as we do.
We are creating safe and warm environments within our homes where our children know they are loved.
Are these not as important creations as towering skyscrapers or driverless cars or phones that talk to you?
Molding a lump of clay
A number of years ago, I attended a weekend course on art therapy. The teacher was an art therapist who used different forms of art expression to help clients work through grief and loss.
We were given a lump of clay and told to shape and mold it according to how we felt.
It wasn’t important how it looked. What was important was that we allowed ourselves to use the clay as an expression of what we were feeling and experiencing.
As a therapist myself, it was intriguing to see what people could do and how something as simple as molding clay could not only be healing but create amazing meaning.
At the end of our weekend course, our teacher showed us slides of art her clients had done in her art therapy classes. There were collages and quilts and wall hangings that were stunningly beautiful, as well as molded objects.
I doubt any of her clients would have considered themselves an artist. But out of their hearts and souls, they gave themselves permission to express who they were at that moment in time.
Children allow their instincts to create to come out in their play. Clay and crayons and building blocks become tools for their imagination.
The same instincts that are in children are the same creative instincts that are in all of us. We just need to release them.
To create means to bring into existence.
Give yourself permission to be creative in how you structure your day, design your garden, try a new recipe, play with your children or grandchildren, or how you might help a neighbor in need.
Find creative ways to reach out to those who are hurting.
Create a way to bring about healing from division. What will it take to bring your family together again?
Perhaps it is creating time to show expressions of love. Tell that child what a great job they did in drawing their dog or Mom or Dad.
Ask them about the clay images they have made or the towering building they have built with blocks.
Ask an elder what they experienced in life and encourage them to share their life stories. You will discover not only the triumphs they have made in difficult situations and how they created a life out of nothing, but what they learned in the process.
If you have a creative flair with flower arrangements, share it with others.
If you have a creative flair for writing, write.
Join an art class or writing group. You may surprise yourself.
Allow yourself to be you: unique – creative and special. And encourage others to use their creative talents.
I do not know what you were handed in life to work with. But I do know that God has given each of us the ability to take that inner spark of creativity and build on it.
We can take whatever we are given and create something positive from it.