When I exercise my God-given creativity, be it in dreaming, thinking, or in resultant activity, my heart turns toward the Lord. For a little while, I can forget about the suffering in the world, the“hard things in life”, and just give the puzzles and heartaches over to my Maker. Maybe I’ll even become so enamored with what God and I are doing, I’ll “lose track of time.”
digital art (c) 2012 by Marilee Miller
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“Chronos: our wristwatch and alarm clock time. Kairos: God’s time. Real time. Jesus took John and James and Peter up the mountain in ordinary, daily chronos; during the glory of the Transfiguration they were dwelling in kairos…
“We simply do not understand time…
“…In chronos, we live most of our lives… For most of us a watch is accurate enough that we know when to get up, to go to work, to go to church, to meet a friend. But… there is considerable variation in our inner clocks. How long is a toothache? How long is a wonderful time?
“ …Perhaps one of the saddest things we can do is waste time.
“But being time is never wasted time. When we are being, not only are we collaborating with chronological time, but we are touching on kairos, and are freed from the normal restrictions of time.
“…But thinking time is not wasted time… If we allow our “high creativity” to remain alive, we will never be bored. We can pray, standing in line at the super market. Or we can be lost in awe at all the people around us, their lives full of glory and tragedy, and suddenly we will have the beginnings of a painting, a story, a song.
“…The saint in contemplation…, the artist at work…, the child at play, … is in kairos. In kairos we are called to be as human beings, co-creators with God, touching on the wonder of creation…
“…Are we willing and able to be surprised?
“If we are to be aware of life while living it, we must have the courage to relinquish our hard-earned control of ourselves.
“…And once we decide that we want the light, we must learn to trust it…
“…When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, freed from normal restrictions , and are opened to a wider world, where colors are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize…
”…Give me the courage to accept that what our free will is meant to do is help God write the story.”
--Madelaine L’Engle, “Walking on Water”)
This post is shared with L. L. Barkat and Laura Boggess
I especially love that second image. It's kind of a in utero sort of image.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about creativity placing us squarely in a different sphere, "away from it all." but you are right. It's a chance for us to relish his glory.
Blessings to you sister
yes, being time is never wasted...wonderful reflection, Marilee :)
ReplyDeleteMarilee, how do you create such works of wonder? I am in awe of your neverending stock of creativity :). I love Walking on Water--have it penned up and pages folded over. And, yes...how it all points to Him.Beautiful, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book.
ReplyDelete