The Things We Love
Feeling so grateful. I have just been playing the guitar, working my way through worship songs from my old song folder. It is such a joy to practise again on the guitar, a truly joyful instrument.
However, for it to sound like worship, requires practice! When I first picked it up after a long break, neither voice nor instrument were sounding too flash. I’m pretty croaky on some of those high notes these days, but the heart condition is still the same, even if it is for an audience of One. It brings me great joy and is energising rather than exhausting.
It is the same feeling I get when I have a paintbrush in my hand. Whether it is painting a room, a house, a piece of furniture, or standing before a canvas on an easel with a palette in hand, it is stimulating, captivating, and fills me with joy.
To get in the zone and flow with that creative energy in the moment is to be exactly where you were made to be. Making time for the things we love to do is so important. There are seasons in our lives when that can be more difficult — young children, juggling work and family life, ill health, or injury, but taking even a moment is so good for the soul.
I love watching people who love to cook. They wear a countenance of contentment as they plan and create beautiful dishes for others to enjoy. Friends who scrapbook, pour their time into preserving memories for their families. Patchwork quilts tell stories and open hearts. Potters literally feel their creation in the clay, aware of nothing but what is forming in their hands. Woodturners create harmony from wood. Others are captivated by reading, devouring many genres and reflecting on the impact and power of words. Some delight in playing with children, inventing wonderful games for them to play. Others revel in physical activity such as walking, cycling, sport, gardening.
We need to flow in what lights up our world. Yes, there are things that simply have to be done, tasks that are not our jam, but are part of life at work or home. But each of us carries something in our DNA that makes us come alive, energised, and joyful.
So I wonder, what have we put aside that needs dusting off? What do we love to do but have laid down for far too long? Make time, even a moment, to re-engage with what you love.
You were made for it.
