Photo: Martha G. Brady
Do you find yourself getting busy doing all the things you have to do that you don’t seem to have time for the things you want to do for fun or enrichment? I’ve been feeling that way lately. I know, it’s odd for me to say that as I have just returned from a trip visiting family. That was fun for sure. But for me, a trip like that is also a lot of work and is really tiring. It’s definitely worth it for sure but it is tiring just the same.
We had a fun visit with family including a fun birthday celebration for our granddaughter. It was also a great chance for in person visits which are worth their weight in gold.
Once we arrived home, we were wiped out for at least a week. A few days after we returned, Ron slipped after getting out of the shower. I was in another room on the phone. He didn’t have a serious injury…fortunately.
Creativity in its various forms, lifts our spirits and brings us joy…for those of us in discouraging circumstances, it lifts the serotonin levels and gives us energy and vibrance.
But by the end of this week, I was ready for something that was fun. I have spent the summer working on improvements for my website as well as learning new skills to develop it more. There always seems to be something more that has to be done. While I enjoy writing, I needed to stimulate a different part of my brain with a fun, creative project. They keep getting postponed. This time, I postponed one of my other projects. I was surprised how much it lightened my spirit!
I have been wanting to work on a quilting project for awhile. It was the day I normally would have restarted my local Bible study. But I’m in a 2 month group that is taking a fair amount of work and am helping lead our small group for 6 weeks so I decided I would put that off until some of these other preps are done and I can catch up with myself. Preparing for groups like these takes me longer than it once did.
All that to say…and I edited out a lot of details! I have found so much enjoyment this weekend working on this new project. Yes, it turns my house upside down a bit, but it is so worth it! I get to create color and beauty that is unique to me. What fun!
What did GOD’s Word have to say about creatives?
It is a reminder that creative work is not fluffy or superficial. Remember what was said about those who did the beautiful work on the tabernacle? (And my creative gifts are no where near that level!) Here GOD’s people were in the middle of the desert. I’m imagining how little beauty people had seen during those years. Now they were creating it for GOD’s house. GOD didn’t seem to think of this work as fluffy or a waste of money at all! I love that. I love that beauty is something of high value to Him. It shows in HIs creation doesn’t it?
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill,
that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.Exodus 28:2-3 ESV
Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur,
of the tribe of Judah;
and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,
to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze,
in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.
And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.
He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer
in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen,
or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.Exodus 35:30-35 ESV
