Thursday, February 13, 2014

Finding time to create...what time?

There are some days I just struggle to find time to make anything! And when I say 'make' I don't mean dinner, or lunches, or beds! I mean something creative like a painting, some writing, a cloth doll....anything. Do you ever have days like that?

I am very blessed that my husband and I work from home. So I do have time around the busyness of family life to create although some weeks it just doesn't happen. Like this week. Everything this week has been bitsy, too many little bits and pieces of things that mean I haven't been able to pull any creating time together. Apart from this afternoon which my sweet husband gave to me even though our kids, at the time, were running and screaming around our house. He decided that rather than both of us ending up frazzled, one of us might as well do something productive, and I feel very blessed that it was my turn.

So apart from a few minor interruptions of one of my four children entering my study to tell me something, wipe away some tears or put on a  jacket; I have had an hour or so to write and also post on this blog. It has been heaven, just some time (I wouldn't say necessarily peaceful but now the kids have gone outside so it's quiet now....for a minute), to reflect, create and reconnect with my creative self.

Sometimes I actually itch to make something....I just feel the need to sew somethings, or paint something....and I know when I get like this I just need to do it or I take my frustration out on other people. There are instances when I randomly go into my study and just do something, and usually the kids end up following me! Often, when I really want to get things done, I distract them with something else or promises of a game when I'm finished.

Sometimes like in this picture, they just play around me. Actually, I end up sewing around them and the mess they create. But I don't mind really. A bit of creative play can be very inspiring so instead of letting it annoy me,  I try at times to let it inspire me, to be creative as a child, without inhibitions. And who cares about the mess anyway?

Friday, February 7, 2014

Two little shells...


The other day my husband brought home two shells from his walk on our local beach. Because of the  recent crazy storms here off the west coast of Ireland, all these shells from some sort of sea snail, had been swept into one area of beach, tucked between some sand dunes. Who knows, maybe the snails had swirled together to get some shelter from the storm without realising they would get trapped between the dunes when the water retreated.

It's been great to take close up pictures of these shells as they are only small, about 1 and a half centimetres wide. Zooming in close I've been able to study the beautiful swirls that so intricately decorate them. These are perfect spirals, not the imperfect unbalanced swirls I draw with my paintbrush. Even these tiny sea snails have absolutely gorgeous, careful crafted coverings, created by a mighty and powerful hand so much greater, more artistic and perfect than my own.

When I think about these shells I'm reminded of that Bible passage where Jesus talks about not worrying and to consider the lilies of the field that are so regal and delicate. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you little faith?" (Matthew 6: 30). Will not God, who provided these little snails with tiny, ornate and precious houses; will not this God much more provide for me in the chaos and swirly mess of my life? Just like these snails, sometimes I feel tossed about by giant waves or swelling tides of doubt. Sometimes I feel swept away and trapped by sands of troubles. But unlike these poor little snails, God will provide for me for I am a child of his. How much more has he crafted and made me who I am, not just a painted shell but a beautiful human being who lives and breathes, sings and loves, writes and creates.

Only two little shells but such a wonderful lesson to me about the goodness of God and how precious my life is to Him.