Creating and Creation

I've always been a pretty artistic person. I like to make things, whether it’s drawing, painting, pottery, making a quick graphic on Canva, crochet, etc. Putting my creativity into a project brings me joy and makes me feel like I'm actually using the gifts God gave me. Since being at Heritage, I’ve been painting more than I ever have. I found a love for watercolor, especially. Last year, about a month into being here, I felt a strong urge to create something. It was a beautiful day, clear skies, cool weather. I went out to the pond, set up in a chair, and just painted what was in front of me. I had never really done that before, besides in my art classes. I've always gotten impatient or discouraged by my art that I’d give up halfway through. This time I stuck it out. I sat there for about four hours and just continued painting until I was satisfied. I’m beyond happy with the outcome and so proud of myself for accomplishing something I didn’t know I could do.

Creating something and sharing it with the world is a scary thing. There’s that fear of judgment and criticism, but remember that your own hands and mind made something special, one of a kind. It might look imperfect to other people who think they know better than you, but in your eyes, it's perfect. It shows the creativity and hard work you put into creating something you love. When you paint a picture, write a story, or play an instrument that you feel was really well done, doesn’t it hurt when someone criticizes it? Doesn’t it also hurt or get stressful when you over analyze to try to make it more perfect than it already is?

Now I want you to think about the creation of the world, specifically man. God created us in His image and likeness, so we are perfect in every way. We are his perfect art piece. But isn’t it easy to think that we might know better than God? That we might know what the “perfect human” should look like? We are constantly criticizing our brothers and sisters, and even ourselves, because we look different than what society has called “perfect”. Don't you think God gets upset when we want to change something about ourselves or hurt others with what we say about them? If you ever get those thoughts of not being good enough, or thoughts calling someone else not good enough, pray about it. Ask God to take those thoughts away and to remember we are all His children.