I'm having lots of deep thoughts today about creativity and why it matters...
All my life, I've leaned toward the artistic and creative side... drawing Mickey and Minnie cartoons as a young girl, sketching horses in my spare time, asking for a calligraphy kit and teaching myself to do that in third grade, journaling a lot and writing a poem about the bombing in fifth grade, making creative little gifts for my friends and teachers with lots of help and encouragement from mom, abstract paintings, filling several blog books, etc. It's been a natural overflow and part of who I am for as long as I can remember. However, a few years back, I managed to convince myself that crafty projects and paintings and home redecorating and Pinterest and such were mostly frivolous and trivial, and that I needed to let it go and pursue things with more lasting value...I was sincere about wanting to pursue things that mattered, but my stance on creativity was an arrogant position that didn't come from God, and one that may have unintentionally belittled people who find great joy in it (ironically including myself).
I read a post this morning by a friend who's a very talented graphic designer, homemaker, and interior decorator. She wrote about another friend questioning the eternal value and purpose of what she does for a living, and about struggling with that for a while and wondering whether only certain careers (mainly ministry jobs or life-saving medical roles) have true value...
The struggle is real. I think so many Christian women put unfair pressure on ourselves here. We listen to the enemy and give in to feeling shame and guilt over things that God meant to be wonderful gifts that bring us joy and add beauty to our lives!
God Himself is the author of all creativity... He loves beauty, and He loves to create! His creation reflects His creative heart in a million different ways from the epic mountains and waterfalls and sunsets to the intimate flowers and butterflies. His design specifications for the tabernacle show that He cares deeply about the details and chooses to be surrounded by beauty. The way He made each person, animal, and even snowflake so wonderfully unique proves that He loves authenticity and originality. And the fact that Jesus spent years practicing and learning the trade of carpentry tells us something, too. I'm sure He put His heart into the work and took joy in the end result.
Over the years, Mom and I have worked together on a plethora of creative projects! That includes creating awesome scrapbooks for our family and a few for friends, painting projects, lots of calligraphy work, photography fun, redecorating the homes of others, redecorating our own homes, decorating for Christmas, etc. More recently, Rachael has come into her own with amazing creative skill that even she didn't realize she had in her! Her wreaths, chalkboards, and other creative gifts have brought a little more joy and color to so many homes! All these creative projects take time - often more than people realize - but I'm realizing that not one second of that time has been wasted. Creating things together is always a great way to build memories and strengthen relationships, and creating things that add beauty, comfort, color, personality, and cozy warmth to any home is truly a gift!! I see all of that much more clearly now, and have spent more time on writing and photography and other creative projects without that guilt or shame that I used to feel - like it was small and meaningless and I wasn't doing enough serious work for God. I believe that God made us creative on purpose, and He delights in it when we use the gifts He gave us well. I understand more deeply the value and sacredness of having a beautiful place to call home, something warm and inviting that uniquely reflects you and what you love!
I do want to spend my life focused on things that really matter, and pressing into the joy and creative gifts God has given me is on that list! =) So hoorah and huzzah for creativity!! Don't let anyone make you feel like what you're creating doesn't matter, even if it's something only you will ever see!!
...Scrapbook we all made for Dad's 60th Birthday.
Decorating Kyndal's nursery room when Rach was pregnant.
Scrapbooks that help us remember all the fun times with Mark & Co.
Painting the Donna Dewberry magnolias for my bathroom wall...
The messy fun of drizzle-painting this mirror for my bedroom!
My pink-tastic living room that is so very ME! lol
A small sampling of Rach's work at SparklesnMesh! =)
Love these!!
"So I will continue to feather my nest, and to color my tiny corner of this world something brighter in the midst of so much beige and blandness. Because the world is a hard, hard place — and we all need a soft place to land." ~Rachel Shingleton
LOVE that!! ❤
"God is into beauty, food, fun, and naps. It often feels unchristian to enjoy life, especially knowing what we know and seeing what we see… But a Christian in tune with God’s whole character neither regards herself as too important or too unworthy to enjoy this life… God gave humanity many healing tools - some are spiritual, but so many others are tactile, physical... Creating a beautiful home is fun. Find colors and styles that make you feel alive and inspired and at home. Go with what you love, not necessarily what you see on design shows or in your neighbor’s house… The biggest waste of non-refundable years is closing your home to guests because it’s ‘not pretty enough’ …Making your home pretty is nice, but making it nourishing is holy. Home is the scene of so much love and happiness. It’s where you invite people in and say, ‘You are so welcome in this place.’ It is the reel our children will replay in memory, the leather chair you read in, the farmhouse table you shared, the braided rug where you played eleventy-billion games of Chutes and Ladders. It is your little corner of earth, entirely yours to make lovely. In a world increasingly dominated by fear and violence and isolation and loneliness, you can claim restoration under your small roof, where people are nurtured and fed and loved and embraced, where God reigns and hope is spoken…” ~Jen Hatmaker
"Please keep believing that life can be better, brighter, broader, because of the art that you make. Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul. Please keep making art for people like me, people who need the magic and imagination and honesty of great art to make the day-to-day world a little more bearable."
~Shauna Niequist
No comments:
Post a Comment