First Lines: Creativity Matters

First Lines: Creativity Matters

by Rev. Griff Martin

June 28, 2017

Creativity matters. Elizabeth Gilbert writes this in her new book, as an ode to creativity: God “buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover these jewels – that’s creative living.” I love knowing about your creativity and the different ways that you are creatively living. It might be writing poetry or cooking or quilting and it might be mechanics or woodwork. We are a church made up of wonderfully creative people who often pursue their creativity outside of their day job. We have state employees who are poets, accountants who are artists and teachers who are writers (or maybe better to say poets who are state workers, artists who are accountants and writers who are teachers).

In Baton Rouge one of my members restored antiques and was truly gifted at doing so. A few months before I left, she had me over to her house to show me her latest find – an antique art easel. She told me the story behind the art easel. She had made a trip to Goodwill and found this easel in the back; she picked it up and was not really sure about it. It was rickety and dirty, but she thought it had potential to be something really wonderful and beautiful. Besides, it cost under $5 – what is the harm if it breaks?

She took it home and a few days later while cleaning it noticed a brass plate with a manufacture’s name and title on it. Her curiosity was piqued, and after a Google search she learned that this antique she found at the back of Goodwill and paid $5 for was a very valuable antique that was selling online for $500.

Her story is one that we know all too well because that is truly the story of each and every one of us: being completely lost, rickety and feeling worthless, and then being found by a God who loves us enough to pick us up, dust us off and remind us that we are worth so much more than we ever thought possible – and then send us back out into the world to shine.

And here is why we know that story well: because that is not a one-time story. That is the story we keep living on repeat over and over, which is why this is not a story about us, but about the grace, mercy and love of our God. It’s a story where we play an important part, but make no mistake, we are not the center of the story.

Our God who is continually finding us when we get lost. Our God who is continually helping clean us up so that we can shine. Our God who is always whispering to us, “I love you more than you know and you are so valuable.” Our God who is also whispering to us, “And I have really big plans for you, so stop getting so lost.”

Our God’s creativity matters and we see it everywhere we look, including the restoration work that God is doing on our own hearts. Thanks be to God.

Grace + peace.

Griff