Create with Me...

We made a vision book for future of Creative Hope - the process started by prayerfully reflecting on the past 10 years. The theme that stood out - CREATIVITY.

Being creative is the foundation, highlight, main theme, the backbone of our work at Creative Hope. And we asked ourselves...why? Here's the answer that emerged -

Because creating things of beauty connects us to who God is, and in tandem, to we are. It's a sacrament that allows us to reflect our Maker - to know our Maker as our Designer, Creator, and the ultimate Artist. And as we create, we step into our identity as reflections of Him - beings created in His image - bringing Him glory simply by being who we are.

This gets me so excited...but if I'm being honest, it's also scary. Yes, creativity can happen anywhere - it's not just about painting or singing (although I love doing both). I can be creative in my cooking, my conversations, my methods of accounting. But for me, the part that is scary - it's vulnerable. To be creative in my daily life, finding ways to make something of beauty, means I need to live with authenticity, with heart, with soul, and obedience to the call. I need to take my ideas, thoughts, endeavors that I think are beautiful and put them from my mind into something sharable. It could be discouraging or exhausting, it could leave me open for judgement or rejection. And as a perfectionist, the risk of making 'mistakes' is a serious one. It's safer to use someone else's idea - if it fails, or worst of all, gets shamed, at least it wasn't all me.

As our Creative Hope team has been thinking about how to invite others into creativity as a sacrament of communion with our Maker as a ministry, I find myself reflecting on my own journey with creativity. How can I step into the full creative sacrament - opening myself to encounters with Jesus despite the unpredictable results? Praying helps. God's Spirit is here to draw me near to Him, to be brave, and to help me worship in spirit and truth.

So, in order to practice leaning into the mission of CHI, I did something haven't done in a while - draw for fun. I re-opened my sketch book and started to fill an empty page with something new. I took inspiration from my nieces mosaic - she knew I love mosaics and drew me one 4 years ago. It's so beautiful that I have it framed and hanging in my gallery.

Without much of a plan for the final product, I started putting lines, shapes and colors together. Here are the process photos:

I don't know if I would want to display this in my gallery, but I did start to listen for God's voice as I filled the page. The experience quieted my rapid thoughts, and it helped me to be present and authentic as I reached for the colors that felt right and filled in the spaces that seemed cohesive. As I focused on the pen strokes and color combinations, I opened myself to the reality that God was present with me. It was a moment of communion with Jesus - peace and assurance of Immanuel (God with us). It wasn't intensely emotional, but there was a groundedness and clarity (so opposite of the scrolling sensation). I wonder if I applied that attitude of openness, vulnerability, and authenticity in other scenarios, would more moments would become life-giving times of connection with my Maker? I believe yes.

All that to say, the invitation is there - to create and commune. It is scary at first, but I believe it's a part of who we are as people reflecting the ultimate Creator. And if you've got moments of creativity and communion with the Lord, please share!