A little over eight years ago, I believed poetry to be the only outlet of expressing myself. Being someone who has a way with words is not a terrible thing to be. However, on the inside, I felt this burgeoning sense of creativity that I knew was resting just below the surface--that writing wasn't the only way to be creative. When I was a freshman or sophomore in college, I went to a prayer meeting (#christiancollege) and I met this older gentleman who happened to be one of the students from the first-ever graduating class of ORU over 50 years ago. He prayed for me, which is not unusual on the campus of Christian colleges. I remember how kind he was, but also how he approached prayer. There was a moment of silence--of him listening to Holy Spirit before he started to pray. I waited, and in my own silence, I was amazed at the man before me. As he began to pray, he started speaking about creativity. His voice was strong and sure, and I didn't doubt what he was saying. The fact that God could be concerned with my creativity, at the time, seemed small and intriguing. I was a writing major who was only beginning to understand the craft, and I didn't know fully what "creativity" he was referring to.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Over the years, I have gone back to that moment in time. That prayer lodged beautifully between my soul and my spirit. Last week I said that "I know creativity to be a holy thing." It is. As I grew and developed more interests and the courage to try new things, I began to realize that how we choose to invest in our creativity speaks to how far it can grow. It is very easy to place limitations on ourselves as human beings and most times quite difficult to find the courage to step out and try new things.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ God is One who deals greatly in new things and He never leaves us alone in the endeavor to try big things.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This week, how can you challenge yourself creatively? What new steps can you take allowing courage to be a beacon for you?
