When I was younger, my favorite thing to do was sit with knees propped and a clipboard in my lap, stacked with pages I could fill with my best attempts at creativity. Those years you’d be hard-pressed to find me without a pen or pencil in my hand. I was either writing lines of poetry or trying to follow the lines of famous faces in magazines. As I grew up, my pension for the pen grew stronger, but I still found myself drawn to visual art. And I still am.
I follow artists on Instagram just to see their next sketch, and admire its beauty. I hate to admit it’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a pencil to sketch, but with a click on each artists’ drawing I can appreciate their talents and how they’re able to share them with the world. Through them, I get inspired to use my talents and share my art–my words.
To me, the things that can inspire us are more than pretty. Or awesome. Or simply great things.
I believe they are all touched by a loving, merciful, all-knowing, and all-powerful Creator.
That means the dynamic artist, that amazing designer, that prolific writer–they were given their talents by God.
And it goes even further than the creative.
Let’s not forget those who can inspire us on a deeper level.
Those who live with joy in spite of a terminal diagnosis. Those who risk their lives for another. Or those who spend their days serving a cause or a community they hold dear–they were given strength and perseverance by God.
And those who seek help and overcome addiction. Those who offer grace when others persecute and ridicule them. Those who dare to show kindness to their enemies–they were given that kindness and self-control by God.
I may not know what you hold dear, but I find myself clinging to my faith daily. So the principles found in the Bible shape the way I see things.
I think we are all made in the God’s image–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–with minds, bodies, and souls (among other things) that can be used for His glory.
The way I see it, inspiration is about more than what’s on the surface, the pretty. It’s about God’s ability to use anyone as a vessel of inspiration, even if they don’t draw their inspiration from the same principles we do. And how it can happen when we don’t even realize it.
This is Day 2 of the series, 31 Days of Inspired Living. Join me throughout the month of October as I write about what I think it takes to find inspiration and live an inspired life, share stories and offer some encouragement for your journey. You can find previous posts in the series here.
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This was great, babe! Had a hard time linking it back to the title, though. Other people may have the same trouble making the connection.
Thanks. I tried to clarify it a bit, just in case. Hope it helps.
Great post. Michael Card (theologian and musician) said once in a sermon that in our imagination and our capacity to be creative we see the fingerprint of the image of God. God introduced himself in Scripture as an artist and creator. Fantastic read.
I did not struggle with the headline as much as your awesome artistic husband.
We miss you guys in Greenville…
Aww…we really miss you all too. And thank you for reading.
I like to believe and hope that God is using me and my words to communicate some level of truth. So it means a lot that you enjoyed it, and that you’re able make a connection with a theologian you respect and that I’ve never heard speak before.
Glad the title connection was clear for you. I still made some minor changes at the end, just in case 🙂