Mourning Dove

I haven’t posted any of my work before, but I wanted to share my latest painting. It is titled Mourning Dove.

After losing our oldest son, Wes, my husband and I sold our photography business and moved to the Hill Country.  I found a drawing class in San Antonio and began to go once a week. After that class, I took a beginning oil painting class and started painting. 

The creative process is healing. It is also a powerful form of communication. It is not enough to read about healing—sometimes we need to act it out through our hands. The point is not the finished product, but the actual act of art-making that I found so healing.

 When all passion was dead to me, I found a new one in painting. Somehow, it soothed my soul. 

If you don’t want to draw or paint, that’s okay. Edith Schaeffer defines the term “Hidden Art” as art found in the minor areas of life. There are countless ways to make art, such as learning to play an instrument, sculpting, gardening, flower arrangement, preparing food, writing, or drama. Some people build birdhouses or take up knitting. 

Find some creative outlet that soothes your soul. It will reduce your stress and enhance your life. We must get out of ourselves. I constantly ask the Lord for the gift of self-forgetfulness, but we must work with him. 

I bought a piano and played it. Playing an instrument can take you out of yourself. If you played in the band or orchestra in school, consider dragging that old flute or tuba or guitar out of the attic. There is a centering that is calming and leaves room for little else in the mind. 

What does the Bible say about creativity? The very first verse of Scripture actually describes the first recorded creative act as "God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Our heavenly Father is creative and made each of his children to be creative as well—which brings light to our dark moments.