I believe we’re designed this way by a Creator who breathed the very breath of life into the first man. And, just as a human baby bears characteristics of her parents, we bear characteristics of our Creator. Simply stated, we’re creative because we’re like the one who created us.

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I realize most of you will readily accept we’re all creative, but not all of you will agree about why we are this way. Despite any disagreement about the source of our creativity, I expect we’ll have similar experiences discovering and expressing it.

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In my family, there is a wonderful heritage of creative people: painters, art teachers, sculptors, and wood workers. Even an architect. My aunt is an accomplished artist living in eastern North Carolina and one of my sons is an in-demand graphic artist and designer. Me? I can’t draw, paint or sculpt but, as I enter a new season of life, I have a strong desire to be creative.

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Since I first learned to read, I’ve had a fascination with words. Reading taught me things I didn’t have to wait for a teacher to share. Reading took me into worlds I’d never visit in reality and I loved those created by Tolkien and Lewis and Rowling. Stories sparked emotion, challenged my mind and there were millions to choose from.

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I want to add my stories to the millions and experience what other “world-building writers” have. I want to become a published author.

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I want also to become a better woodworker. My interest in woodworking goes way back to when I watched Norm Abram every week on New Yankee Workshop. Today, I regularly watch a dozen YouTube makers. I can’t create like them right now, but I have a plan to catch up. This month, construction of a woodshop begins in the woods behind our house.

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I recently hired builders from a nearby Amish community to build it. It’s design has gone through several iterations, but I finally decided on a 16’ x 24’ building.

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I look forward to tracking down vintage power tools and refurbishing them. I am excited to practice cutting dovetails, using a router to add trim detail, and making gifts for my family.

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So, what about you? Where are you creative or where do you hope to express it? My mom, like me, was unable to draw or paint. But no one ever made a better chocolate cake. Her Thanksgiving dinners were huge productions – culinary expressions of her imagination. Her meals were great, but mom also paid attention to how she presented it. Clearly, her creativity was on display when she was in the kitchen.

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There is great joy in being who we were designed to be. When the gift inside each of us is expressed, we are fulfilled in a sense. We also honor the one who created us when we imitate him in our art, our words . . . even our flair for cooking.

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