Today's passages were the first version of the creation story and Psalm 1. Two of my favorites. I've been fascinated with the creation story since the first time I read it in one of those illustrated picture books, probably when I was 4 or 5. It came into even clearer focus during one of the best preaching classes I've ever had the privilege to attend.
Our professor came to class a little late one day (intentionally), poked his head into the classroom, grinned, and said, "Come and follow me." And left. We all looked at each other, and then packed up our stuff and followed him. He took us to the Chapel. Sat on the top step. We all sat down around him - at his feet. And he began to teach. He told us the creation story - from memory. And then he told us John 1 - also from memory. And all of a sudden, there were pieces of the story, patterns, rhythms, parallels that I'd never seen before. It was incredible. Beautiful. Creative. Inspiring.
I love that God's Word is that creative. (He's the God who creates by speaking - it makes sense that His Book would be creative, too.)
And His Word says that we're created in His image - something about us reflects, mirrors, images Him. A piece of that is that we are all creative - we love to make things, think things up, do things - we have to. It's who we are. Painters, dancers, construction workers, software engineers, architects, inventors, scientists, musicians, writers - we all wake up every day with the ability and desire to create.... something.
It is one of the reasons why, when we are not creating, when we are just going thru the motions, just doing our jobs, focused on task lists and getting thru the day, that we become restless, unhappy, and less ourselves.
I have not been very creative these past few months. There are reasons for that. Some of them valid. Most of them lame. Last night I sat down intentionally and spent an hour working on a song. There's only a verse and a chorus and two lines of another verse to show for it (and of course they're lines for the middle of the verse, so the challenge now is how to get to them logically and creatively) - but they're lines worth keeping. And I felt more like myself than I have in a really long time.
I love the poetic beauty of the lines in Psalm 1. God's children are like trees, planted by water, that bring forth fruit in their season. In season. Mmm. Sometimes I forget in those dry, unhappy seasons that they are only that - seasons. My roots, tho, go deep, and the river of life from which I draw my life is a flawless source - He never fails.
And on that note: