Day Ten - Lovingly created

The ability to create is a God given gift. For those of us who visualise something and then go ahead to bring that vision to life, whether it’s through composing a piece of music or singing a song, or writing a story or a poem, producing a piece of art, or performing a role in a play or musical, we don’t always appreciate the gift we have. It’s easy to take the opportunities we have and the gifts we have individually for granted. It’s also often easier to appreciate someone else’s talent than to see our own. Whether you recognise that gift or not, I hope that you know the pleasure you bring to those around you who can appreciate what you have created.

As God was creating the world, he took time to step back and look at what he was creating and take pride in what he was doing. “And God saw it was good.” Genesis 1:12b. He then put people on the earth to nurture, care and protect it.

As a child growing up, I had the pleasure of watching my dad’s mum (my nana) making the most fabulous things from almost nothing. Beautifully intricate roses came out of a roll of crepe paper and splendid fancy-dress costumes were made from scraps of material and repurposed charity shop buys. The floor of her house was covered in the most beautiful and colourful rag rugs, lovingly made by her from old coats and old heavy curtains, with the most intricate patterns worked within them. My nana had little wealth in terms of money, but the true wealth she had was immeasurable. She was so resourceful, undoing and re-using items in the most creative ways … and this was long before we fully realised the damage we were causing to our planet and words like recycling, upcycling and re-purposing were everyday words in the English vocabulary.

I used to spend hours watching my nana, as her fingers worked and teased the materials into remarkable objects. Her motive for what she did was, in the main, because she had a financial need to do so, but she always shared what she made with others, and there was many a home locally displaying the things she made. As a child I don’t think I truly appreciated how resourceful she was and her ability to ‘eek out’ what she had. At the time I watched without realising how much of it I was taking on board. Looking back I appreciate that she taught me to recognise beauty and creativity in the world around me, as well as the need to be resourceful with what we have, none of which would be possible without God.

How disappointed must God have felt - and continues to feel - when the people he put on earth to care and protect it, and to use our resources wisely, only cause damage and destruction to what he has lovingly created. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5

We all have a choice. We can choose to make changes and to use our God given gifts to make changes, to be more creative and resourceful with what we have, to take because we need, rather than because we just want it! Let’s do it now before it’s too late and ask God for His help.

God, our Father, we thank you for all that you have given us in this world. Help us to use our gifts to make the necessary changes to stop us damaging our planet further and to re-address the balance. Show us the way to go and guide our actions. Amen.

Kathy Shaw