Creative Training Day

I scooped the cereal and milk poured into the spoon. My stomach fluttered, not from the multigrain cheerios cascading my throat, but because today was the day. I was meeting creatives. And I was terrified.

I've always been nervous around "creatives." Without considering their strengths, needs or hurts, I immediately think about myself. I'm not as fashionable as that creative. I don't have that skill. I don't..I don't...I don't. The list goes on and on. And, I shrink from meeting them, getting to know them, learning from them.

So, when the day came to attend a Creative Training Day, I felt my anxiety creep in. It was a big step for me. In years past, I wouldn't have even attended such an event. What if my stuff wasn't good enough? What if I had to talk to an accomplished artist who was clearly more skilled than me?

It didn't matter that the event was put on by a Christian nonprofit, housed in a church. I was just flat out nervous. I honestly struggle with not only lack of confidence in the creativity that God has instilled in me, but also selfishness.

Thankfully, I was wrong about everything.

Seated in wooden pews, together we praised God. We discussed ideas. We heard stories. We checked our hearts. We learned how to be creatives, making art that God would enjoy. I felt soothed with the worship, encouraged by the panels and affirmed in the break out sessions.

Turns out, creativity isn't all that scary.

And, I left feeling affirmed in my calling. That it's OKAY to be a creative. That it's OKAY to admire beauty. That it's OKAY to pursue creative callings. That being creative isn't bad or limited to just a hobby (although it certainly can be).

I regularly struggle with the lie that my creativity should only be a hobby. That I shouldn't try to make money off of it and that it isn't really worship. It's just painting or sewing or drawing. That's not real worship. I don't know where that lie came from in my life, but it's there.

And, softly whispered, I was reminded that creativity is worship. Entrepreneurship is worship. That not only is it okay to worship creatively, but that God enjoys it. He loves creativity and he loves when we explore it.

I'm grateful for that experience. I found new people with wisdom far behind my years. And, better yet, God and I got on good terms with being creative, once again.