Creativity is a form of prayer that deeply unites us to God because He is the Creator of all things and we are the means by which His creativity is brought to the world.
While all we do is a form of creativity not all forms of it are as refreshing as others. For instance, the person baking for the joy of it will be more refreshed than the one who bakes for a living and must deal with the stress of deadlines. Creativity that refreshes us fills us up with God and enables us to then give Him to others, not just through what we are creating, but whenever and wherever we are needed. This is because we have been refreshed and relieved of some of our stress. If someone is stressed and not too happy about having to help out, chances are good they have not taken the time to refresh themselves in some manner.
Creativity is a remedy to relieve stress, a method of prayer and a means to being able to say yes to helping others.
I find creativity to be one of my favorite forms of prayer. I sense a deep union with God through it because I know it is He that is creating through me. I am aware that on my own, it is not going to happen. That doesn’t mean that each time I try to do something creative it is going to end up being a priceless work of art. Not even close. Ask my sons about my lilac painting that looks like a bunch of grapes. It doesn’t matter to me. I just enjoy the prayerfulness of it. As in all forms of prayer, there is a process by which the union grows and in this case so does the art. We may want our drawing, for instance, to look like a thoroughbred horse only to find that it looks more like a donkey. Did God make a mistake with the donkey? No. It is perfect just as it was created to be. We judge our results. God does not. He is simply pleased by our love. St. Paul said that we are to pray without ceasing (1Thes 5:16-18). Creativity is one way to help towards this.
If we are mindful that we are one with God and that in that union He is creating through us, we are experiencing prayer. By our very lives we become the prayer.
Anytime we create, we feel better. When the project is finished, we feel even better and we feel refreshed because by creating in union with Jesus, we become filled up with Him. When we consistently keep this form of prayer going, the interruptions in life are met with greater calm and we find that we are better able to give Jesus to others. We can give Him to others because we have first received Him. Afterwards, we can go back to the pool of prayer to be filled up with Jesus again and creativity is one of the pools we can dip into.
Questions to Prayerfully Ponder
What forms of creativity do you enjoy?
Have you ever reflected on God being the Creator who creates through you? Do you understand that by being mindful of that when you create, you are engaging in a prayer that deeply unites you to Him?
Is life stressful? Do you need more creativity in your life?
Are you having trouble knowing what form of creativity to start? What types of creativity did you enjoy when you were younger? Might you be able to pick that activity up again?