gaslogs

My boy and girl are snug in their beds and I have a front row seat on the couch in front of the fireplace.  After a frenzy of a month and 3 weeks of  non-working gas logs, this evening is pure heaven!  As of yesterday, I completed a month-long online Creative Cleanse led by my fearless creative coach Amy.  All in all, participating in this workshop has been a joyful experience for me, but I have to say, I felt a bit depleted and overwhelmed at times creating art almost every day while keeping-up with the daily household demands, trying to be flexible with the kids being home due to snow days off from school and  celebrating  my baby girl’s seventh birthday towards the middle of the month.  I did it, but I did not always do it well or even in the time frame that I would have liked.  Laundry often waited until the last-minute on Sundays, bathrooms went uncleaned for just one more week, an explosion of mail and school papers littered the kitchen counter, and the floors begged to be vacuumed.

That said, knowing that this temporary blitz of art would not last forever, I turned my head as often as my organizing genes would allow me, and dove head-first into my intention to “fan and share my inner light, creating a life of joy and abundance.”  While my hope was to make room for creative inspiration, I did not expect this workshop to touch me so deeply spiritually, especially being an online course.  For me, sitting-down to make art each morning was essentially communing with God for a whole 2 hours every day.  With my daily prompt in front of me and paintbrush in hand, I felt God’s presence gently nudging me to just start.  Open your journal.  Squirt out your paints.  Load your paintbrush and start.  I am with you.  I created with the quiet assurance that my heart was leading my hand and mistakes could always be made into something beautiful.  On a few “off” days, when my confidence waned in the face of fear, I struggled to paint the vision in my head and  wound-up brushing white gesso over the entire finished-product, as if trying to hide my ineptness.  Later, I would remind myself that God will pick-up where my skills are lacking. I kept-on painting, tearing, and glueing, believing that something good and true will come as a result of singing the song that He has placed in my heart.  Isn’t that belief crucial to our ability to persevere in so many other facets of our lives?

Over the next few days (maybe even weeks!), I plan to slow-down a bit.  To rest in the knowledge, that yes, God created me to create.  To replenish my energy.  To give some attention to areas of my household in need of extra care. And to prepare myself for the next leg of this artful journey.

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