Tuesday 12 May 2015

Your Passions = Your Art

Yesterday I got a new laptop. I haven’t owned my own laptop in about 4 years. We decided to take the plunge. For several reasons but ‘tax return’ being the main one. :)

Later that night, I asked my husband if we should return it. More of a rhetorical question, really, but my husband reassured me we had made the right decision and deep down, I agreed. I’m just not used to making such big purchases for myself. It felt extravagant and uncomfortable. 

This post isn’t about getting a new laptop or making big purchases. It’s about what happens when we search the desires in our heart and bring them before God. Let me take you back to early yesterday morning… before this new laptop thing was even on my radar. 

Baby went down for his nap and I decided to write in my journal. What came out on paper was that I’ve been feeling a bit restless lately. There are things- passions, desires, dreams- that the Lord has put in my heart. One of those passions is writing. I love writing. It is a practice, an art, that I’ve always loved, even as a young girl. I have stacks upon stacks of journals I’ve written throughout the years starting at the age of 8. 

Everyone has a way they feel comfortable expressing themselves to the world. This month my husband is filling in for the pastor at our church so he’s writing sermons every week. We were talking the other day about what it would be like to picture his sermons as art- blank canvases he fills with colours, expressions, interpretations of the world. No two canvases will look the same. He will probably develop a stylistic approach over time, but this occurs as your art, your skill, develops. 

So back to the laptop thing. If I love to write and writing is a way I express my art to the world, then I kinda need a laptop. :) Sometimes, as women, or maybe even more so now as a mom, I find it’s difficult to prioritize myself. Can I get an amen?! I’m learning that in giving so much of my time and energy to others, I need to be careful not to push down my own passions and things I love to do. Our priorities definitely change as our life situations change. I believe everyone, regardless of where they are at in life, has passions that make their lives more full, more beautiful. You are the only one that can offer your unique, beautiful art to the world. 

So…what is your passion? If you’re not exactly sure, you could try asking yourselves these questions:
What makes me come alive?
If I had 30 extra minutes in my day, just for myself, what would I do with it? 
What activities make you feel like more of yourself?

Is it cooking, writing, painting, gardening, preaching, editing, running, marketing, mothering, cleaning, fixing, teaching, singing, overseeing, listening, sewing, taking photos, sketching, decorating…etc.

There’s an amazing book written on living our art by one of my favourite authors, Emily P. Freeman. Check out “A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art you Were Made to Live” 
www.chattingatthesky.com/the-books/

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