I was the kind of child who was always looking for a way to escape my reality – looking for the ancient door to the wardrobe so that I could step into Narnia, where enchanting trees spirits, lively dwarfs, and talking animals made my painful realities all fade away.
Somehow in the process of growing older, of coloring between the lines and living by the rules, especially the religious ones, the creative fantasies disappeared like a mist vaporizing. Trauma, worries, concerns, cares of this world, even our logical thinking can bring the creative flow to a halt.
But not so “In the beginning…”
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created…” And a few verses later, mankind was made in His image. We were created in the image of our creator who created all things. The first instructions He gives His new creation is “Go procreate. Go cultivate. Go name the animals. Go take care of all of this new creation. Go be fruitful and multiple.”
This is what co-creating with God means to me – to allow His creative power to flow through us to bring His image upon the earth.
In a state of worshipful mediation, I heard the words, “You don’t live by the rules anymore.”
When we are young, we have lots of rules to teach us, protect us, and to help us learn. Yet, as we grow older, maturing into adults many of those rules aren’t needed anymore. God says that He will write His law of love on our hearts, and that this is the new place to live from.
It was the temptation to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that brought death in the first place. Mankind stepped away from the Tree of Life, and partook of the Tree of Knowledge: the tree of living by the rules, the regulations, of the law that kills, the knowledge of right and wrong.
Children are born with the ability to create and tend to be very creative. We are made in the image of God. He is the master creator. I believe everyone has some God-given ability in them to create whether it is gardening, painting, cooking, working with computer, fixing a car. It’s in us.
Yes. As children, we need rules and boundaries to help us to mature and to grow up healthy. “Don’t touch the hot stove.” is a rule that can keep our fingers from experiencing the painful burn of heat. We need to learn right from wrong, and that there is truth and laws that govern our world.
As we grow up though, maturing into into adults, we come to a place in that maturation process where we should step into a new place of being governed by the law of love written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. When we learn to live from the law of love, there is the return of the freedom flow of living from the Tree of Life.
However, children also learn at a young age, many times by a well meaning adult or maybe a not so well meaning, that thinking or coloring outside of the box or the lines is wrong, squelching creativity. We learn to live and operate from places of fear of punishment. We learn to live in boxes – in those self- or other- imposed boundary lines that are controlling us through intimidation.
Trauma, stress, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, unresolved issues in our heart cloud, suppress, and even destroy our ability to create.
To create beautiful things, there must be some framework of trust in us. Trust is built through loving, safe relationships. In intimate, trusting relationships creativity flourishes, because the fear of failure evaporates.
I still remember the day I was teaching an art class to sex trafficking survivors. One lady began to cry as we were finishing up a painting. I thought somehow I had triggered her, but instead she began to tell a piece of her story. As a child, she loved to paint and draw, but her abuser threw her art supplies away, and forbid her to be creative. Through her tears, she said this was the first time since then that she had created something beautiful. This unlocked something in her.
That’s what allowing creativity to flow happens in us. It unlocks things. It unlocks places in our hearts, beauty, our dreams, ambitions. It also can unlock areas of pain, which we then can give to God in the process and let Him heal.
Life is not about following rules of do’s and don’t or coloring in the lines. It is about a free flow of stepping into the river of life, and co-creating with God. The only boundaries of the river are His love.
It might look messy. It hopefully will look and feel child-like. But most of all, my prayer is you feel encouraged and connected with the Master creator, learning to allow His creative power to flow through you bringing healing and wholeness to your heart, mind, and Spirit.
As I was spending time with the Lord today, I felt God whisper this is my ear for you.
Child,
I am the master creator. I created everything with my breath, formed the mountain, hung the stars, spun out the solar systems with my words. Be and it was. Every living thing, every living creature was formed in my magnificent heart, hand crafted by me.
Mankind being my most glorious of all creation, after my own likeness, you are made in my image. You are made to be creative, to create and bring to life the wonders I placed inside of you.
The enemy wants nothing more than to destroy the creative process in you, to squelch the beauty within waiting to burst forth.
Trauma, fear, anger, stress – all these things put you in a shut down, self protect mode which keeps you from engaging and living out of me, living out of the freedom of the creative life giving flow. Like blocks damming a river, preventing the flow of life.
Your enemy comes swiftly at children to shut down their creativity to steal their God-given ability to connect with heaven, with good, with me through their imagination. But I want to restore your child-like faith. I want to clean your holy imagination screen, to fill your mind-eye with light, so you can see again.
In the creative River, there is a flow of ideas, light, life, freedom. There is no right or wrong here. There are no rules. The only boundary is love. Every creative drop flows out of love, out of life, joy, peace – from living in the tree of life.
Don’t be afraid of making a mistake, of getting it wrong, of seeing something wrong or bad. If you do, just bring that back to me, let me heal where ever it is that is causing you pain. I’m not going to condemn you. I simply love you. I know where you are in pain, what needs my touch. I am healing you.
These are healing waters of creativity that are yours to step into. So, jump on in. I’ll meet you in the middle of the waters to jump and play and to wash all the pain, sorrow, and lies away.
I love you, little one. You are sensing me. Dance in the river of creative love. Music, arts, books, all forms of creativity flow from here…
Engage. Encounter me.
Love,
Papa
Check out the new monthly encounter art classes where we learn and grow in this creative flow together!
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