I sit at a table in a circle of women. We hold paintbrushes and mine might just be trembling the slightest bit. Why does this blank canvas feel so much more intimidating than a blank page?
I’m at Stephanie’s house and she has invited us to simply make art.
Not a masterpiece. Not something to be hung in a gallery. Just strokes and lines and colors.
It’s not about the result at all. It’s about taking time to be creative in the middle of our busy lives.
I paint a cupcake (anyone surprised?). It’s vibrant with color and texture. I don’t think anyone will want to display it but I like it anyway. I like it because it wakes up a part of me that has been asleep. A part of me I’ve missed.
Creativity literally changes us. Scientists used to think after a certain age our brains were set. But being creative actually makes new neurological pathways in our minds. It’s never too late to grow.
And creativity isn’t just picking up a paintbrush. It’s essentially anything we do that gets us outside of our comfort zones. Anything we do that brings life into this world.
What is that for you? For me it’s writing, baking, a long conversation over coffee with a friend that takes us to unexpected places.
And why is creativity so hard? Because it’s always tied to fear.
Creativity invites us outside the familiar. It opens us up, changes us, challenges us, requires effort and intention and attention too. You will not be the same when you finish as when you started.
Because literally and symbolically, creativity is so much of what keeps us alive. We have two choices: growth or decline. There is no standing still. When we choose creativity, we reach for life…and the Giver of it.
The God who spun stars into space, who can spread His fingers across the ocean, who knows every sparrow that falls…this is the God who calls you to create with Him.
Has there ever been a more beautiful invitation?
He’s not asking you to make something perfect. He’s simply asking you to be His partner. You pour out creativity and He fills you up in return.
In your own wonderful way.
And watch how it makes you.
–Holley Gerth
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