“The creative life can be quietly gratifying. The thing is to allow ourselves to become a vessel for a work of art to come through and allow that work to guide our hands. Once we do, we are assenting to a sacred adventure. We are saying yes to the transcendent and embodied presence of the holy” (Mirabei Starr quoted by Richard Rohr in “Daily Meditation” November 13, 2019).

Do you paint, draw, color or sketch, make movies, take photos or work with clay? Do you sing, play an instrument or write music? Do you journal or write letters or poems, books or blogs?  Do you knit, sew, or quilt? Do you flip houses, build furniture or design rooms? Do you care for indoor plants, create gardens of potted flowers on your patio, or plant and nurture vegetables in a garden? Do you cook, bake, decorate cookies or carve pumpkins? Do you build Lego creations or villages for your trains or under your Christmas tree?

Do you create and sustain friendships?  Do you teach in a classroom or in a Bible study  or at a gym or in art studio or on a tennis court?  Do you hangout with a pet or a child? Do you sit in a recliner, on a porch chair, on the beach or on the grass and  wonder and day dream? Do you read with a curious mind, hatching ideas or questions from a good book or magazine?

If you experience any of these wonderful ways to spend your time, I’m sure you understand Mirabei Starrs’ comment that the “creative life can be quietly gratifying.”  Becoming “a vessel for a work of art” is a beautiful way of describing our creative activities. I especially appreciate Starr’s vision that when we create, we are “assenting to a sacred adventure.” Our ability to create comes directly from the heart of God’s creative nature. When we create, we are tapping into the creative character of God. What a blessing to be allowed to participate in the very essence of who God is.

We are often encouraged to spend time in solitude to experience the presence of God and deepen our spiritual lives. It occurred to me today that undertaking a creative activity is a unique way of being alone with God. And collaborating with God’s creative energy may be one of our best opportunities to get to know God’s heart.