Have
you ever just went for a walk out in nature, just to explore your
surroundings? Unencumbered by phone or other technological devices,
except for maybe a camera? And as you’re out on this walk, have you
ever just taken in your surroundings, not so much just being aware
of, ‘I’m on a sidewalk. Oh, here comes someone, I need to step
aside so we don’t crash into each other!’ But really just paused
your thoughts and really appreciated the beauty around you? Have you
ever stopped and pondered where that beauty comes from, really
appreciated just being alive? Back in 2009, I went on a retreat with
some friends down near Ash Cave (that’s where I took this photo,
during the time my then-roommate and I were out on a nature hike). As
a writer and someone who loves to play around with cameras, I tend to
see things a bit ... differently, you could say, than someone who is,
say, an architect or someone who likes to refurbish old vehicles to
their former glory. But it all boils down to one thing: Creativity.
We all, each of us, has something to offer the world in terms of art.
Art
isn’t limited to just painting, or just writing, or just building.
It’s so many things, and the question came up during a
conversation: do we stop to wonder where that creativity came from?
Given
we’re all created in the image and likeness of God, it stands to
reason that He’d extend that desire to create things into us, too,
when He created us. In Jeremiah, it says, ‘Before I created you in
the womb, I knew you.’ That’s heavy, isn’t it? Stop and look at
a tree sometime, or even just appreciate a simple dandelion (before
you pluck it from your garden). Each little thing we take for granted
that’s around us, we should stop and take it in. Appreciate the
intricacy of the details of the colours, the designs. There’s no
happenstance reason for it being there. It had to come from
Somewhere, right? God gave us something He didn’t give the animals
or even the other plants: the ability to notice the beauty of our
surroundings. There’s something oddly beautiful about seeing old
buildings or even a cluster of weeds in the dirt straining toward the
sun. Our Lord is a Creative, Himself. He loves to make things so
much, He shared that part of Himself with us. I once read a quote,
‘Our talent is a gift from God. What we do with that talent is our
gift back to Him.’ (Anonymous)
God
didn’t just look at a list of specifications for each of us that He
wanted to include in terms of what we’d look like or enjoy in our
free time. He thought more about the intricate details of our
personalities, too. He thought of the music we’d enjoy if we’d
play an instrument, our favourite colours, all of it. God wanted to
include as much of Himself in creating us as He knew our finite
little minds could handle. So, one of those things was that
creativity that He, Himself, possesses. One of the coolest things
about our relatability with the Almighty is the ability to take a few
bits of seemingly odds and ends and making something elaborate with
it. For example a hank of yarn and a couple of knitting needles. Or
some fabric, thread, and a machine with a needle. Within minutes (or
depending on the project, hours, days), you’ve taken something in
your mind and brought it into fruition.
Next
time you’re out with your family, or even by yourself, stop and
breathe in your surroundings. Take in everything. The birds chirping,
the trees, the animals, even the insects (yes, even the irritating
ones). Take it all in and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving to our
Father for all He’s given us, and for the talents you, yourself
possess, because He’s the Author of all that we are and have.