By Valerie Tompson, City Church Executive Director
I am so left brained, not creative at all.
I take great pleasure in a balance sheet that balances and a bank statement that reconciles.
I plan all our meals for a week, shop for those items only, and then follow the recipes exactly.
These are the statements I frequently use to describe myself. Until recently, if you had asked me if I was a creator, I would have said categorically, “No.” I am structured, and I like lists. But as I have marinated on the idea that God made us all creators, it has caused me to think, what do I create? For years, I have thought of a creator only as someone who composes a song, writes a book, or paints a painting, none of which I can nor really even desire to do.
God made me in a way that I create things that I don’t necessarily think of as works of art (a spreadsheet?!?). But just like a musician, my God-given talents allow me to create things that not everyone can do. That is the beauty of God’s ultimate creation, humankind. He made each of us creators and he made each of us differently. I love beauty and I love art, but a world with only artists would not be nearly as beautiful. How astonishing that God created us with so many different ways to create so that we can bring different things to his creation.
Madeline L’Engle said, “The creator made us creative. Our creativity is our gift from God. Our use of it is our gift to God. Accepting this bargain is the beginning of true self-acceptance.” How encouraging to realize that I can accept myself for who God created me to be. That my works of art, my organization, and even my spreadsheets, are a delight to my creator. I pray that each of us at City Church will lean into the truth that we are created differently, working together to gradually redeem his creation, whether that involves creating beautiful works of art, writing a memorable song, or relishing in a balance sheet that balances.
