Empty…creative…art…return. (gifts #237- #240)
Those are the words the past few days that keep showing up.
Again and again.
The story started last week at bible study when I heard the leader say that when we’re in Scripture often, we’ll experience progressive revelations…begin to see how God is revealing Himself to us through day-to-day activities.
These revelations are gifts.
They are gifts for us to receive…every day.
So, over the past week, I believe God has been progressively revealing the gifts He’s giving.
It started with Naomi and Ruth.
The book of Ruth is a love story. The love between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law and between a woman and man, Ruth and Boaz. Of course there has to be a conflict or struggle like there is in everyone’s lives.
Naomi’s struggle was bitterness. Bitterness that her husband and two sons had died after they moved to a city filled with people who did whatever they felt like doing (isn’t that how our world lives these days with no boundaries anymore?).
Naomi was upset and shared her hurt, bitterness and frustrations of her losses when she went back to her homeland in Judea. “I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. The Lord…has brought misfortune on me.” (Ruth 1:21)
But don’t you have to be empty in order to be filled?
Then, when I ask myself that question when reading that chapter, later that day I was reading One Thousand Gifts and to my amazement this is what I read.
“Empty to fill…Overwhelming grace drew me to the Christ full of glory that I might empty of self. I empty to become full. Full of grace…to fully live.” (p. 209)
Progressive revelation.
I want to empty myself of my selfishness, my self-seeking attitude and actions. I want to empty the fears of myself. I want to be self-less, full of grace to bless others.
Creating and writing on this blog is something I never imagined doing. It’s made me step out of my comfort zone and I don’t like doing that. But I know it is only through Christ that I’ve been able to keep it going so far.
But I still have doubts. Every day.
I still hear the whispers, “This is silly. It’s a waste of time. You have a lot of other things you could be doing, need to be doing instead of this. Is it really worth it?”
Then today I read two blogs. My husband sent one to me he had read this morning with encouraging words to keep going with this blog. The title: Struggle Is a Sure Sign You're Creating Art by writer Jeff Goins. He writes:
“I’m learning an important lesson about struggle and art: Creation always comes from chaos.
Often, we want to wait for perfection before pursuing our craft. We want to clean the desk before going to work. To empty our inbox before we begin writing. But often, this is just stalling.
If we’re waiting for perfect, we’re kidding ourselves. Life is messy. And if we’re going to do meaningful work, we’re going to have to enter the mess.
All artists struggle. It’s an indication that you’re actually “in the game.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We need your voice. Start using it. Yes, there will be pain, but there will also be glory.
Every graveyard is a tale of legacy, of something important left behind. So will your stories of struggle live on in your absence. If you dare to be an artist.”
As some of you know, I have an art degree with a minor in English. I could relate to his words…what I needed to hear.
And then, just a few minutes later, I receive today’s blog post from Ann Voskamp. It’s titled: Why Eveyone Needs to Create Art Everyday: 7 keys to creativity.
OK God! What’s Your point?! These 7 keys Ann posted (see below) brought a little revelation…
progressive revelation…
That I need to return back to the main road where God wants me. I so often go on side roads because I’m lured by selfish desires, uncertainties, comforts, whispers.
Didn’t Naomi do that? She had to return. She had to be emptied in order to be filled again.
I thank God for luring me back to the main road. Today I was back on that main road. And these were the big billboard signs as I started forward again.
1. Quit trying to fit. Why try to squeeze all your extraordinary into ordinary?
2. God made woman to be a maker, to open her empty places and let life be knit from within her.
3. Creativity, it’s good theology; it’s what God did in the beginning.
4. When we stop fearing failure, we start being artists.
5. Don’t let the sun set till you’ve done one thing that sort of scares you. The only trees that ever grow tall keep relentlessly stretching into unknown territory.
6. Art, it’s the second person present indicative of the verb to be. Art is a way of being and when you make your life art — thou art.
7. Bury your fear in faith. Otherwise you bury your talents.
I have to return to the main road. I have to return to my heart’s desire to write that I’ve always had, but have always filled my life with other things to avoid, to make excuses. But I need to empty myself and allow God to fill my with His plans and purposes.
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