I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a week at Ghost Ranch, the longtime home and inspirational place for artist Georgia O’Keefe.
I was on a retreat with 100 other pastors, a time set aside for us to talk about, learn about, and reflect on preaching.But this time away was so much more than just a preaching retreat.
I was surrounded by scenery that was out of a movie. Sunrises and sunsets that contained more colors than I’ve ever seen. Mesas and valleys that I had to constantly remind myself had been there for millions of years.
Being with these pastors in this scenery, the constant refrain in my mind was “God is never not creating.” And God’s creating has no limit. It is we who limit. It is we who choose to be stifled. Or to stifle.All of this has me thinking about creativity, what is means, is there a true definition.At its most basic, creativity comes from create which means to bring into existence. Then we are always creating: relationships, opportunities, space for rest and play. We are a part of the creation and therefore we are creating, being creative. It just takes intention. Stepping away to a place like Ghost Ranch, or the mountains or the beach or anywhere that is not our usual places can perhaps make that creativity come more easily. But stepping away like that is not always easy.So what if we made the intention to just step away from the moment. Give ourselves permission to step away from the to-do list; the television; the noise. What if we said yes to watching the birds, listening for the bees, and feeling the breeze. How might we join in creation by being in it? Might God reveal something new to us? Might we discover how we are living our creativity by observing the creation?
I was on a retreat with 100 other pastors, a time set aside for us to talk about, learn about, and reflect on preaching.But this time away was so much more than just a preaching retreat.
I was surrounded by scenery that was out of a movie. Sunrises and sunsets that contained more colors than I’ve ever seen. Mesas and valleys that I had to constantly remind myself had been there for millions of years.
Being with these pastors in this scenery, the constant refrain in my mind was “God is never not creating.” And God’s creating has no limit. It is we who limit. It is we who choose to be stifled. Or to stifle.All of this has me thinking about creativity, what is means, is there a true definition.At its most basic, creativity comes from create which means to bring into existence. Then we are always creating: relationships, opportunities, space for rest and play. We are a part of the creation and therefore we are creating, being creative. It just takes intention. Stepping away to a place like Ghost Ranch, or the mountains or the beach or anywhere that is not our usual places can perhaps make that creativity come more easily. But stepping away like that is not always easy.So what if we made the intention to just step away from the moment. Give ourselves permission to step away from the to-do list; the television; the noise. What if we said yes to watching the birds, listening for the bees, and feeling the breeze. How might we join in creation by being in it? Might God reveal something new to us? Might we discover how we are living our creativity by observing the creation?
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