Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: EXPRESSION (11/12/20)
-
TITLE: THAT SPECIAL GIFT | Previous Challenge Entry
By Dolores Stohler
11/17/20 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
It has nothing to do with money, although some become rich that way. Nor is it all about pleasing people. The salt will lose its savor if all we care about is to attract others with our talent. No, it arises from a burning desire within us to create something of beauty or purpose, or to add something to the world that will be of benefit to others.
My granddaughter, who we call Cat, has a special talent for drawing. She can view something once or twice and, on paper, create an image very much like what she sees in her mind. If she's not satisfied with her creation, she'll crumple it up and throw it away in disgust. I assumed that, since she loves to draw, she'll become an artist when she matures. But no, she wants to keep it to herself as “my fun thing”. She says that, as an adult, she wants to be a counselor or something that will help other people. Eventually she may figure out a way to use both talents at the same time.
I once wrote an article about hands for a Christian magazine, linking our hands in a special way to the hands of God. Whether or not our creator has actual hands, he did a wonderful job of fashioning them in humans and, linked to the brain, they are the most amazing part of the human body. Two of the largest areas of the brain control the hands, which contain thousands of nerve endings per square inch, making them the most sensitive parts of our body. They are tools for the builder, inventor and others to create something useful, tools for the surgeon and plumber to repair what we cannot, or tools for the artist to dazzle the eyes.
When Major General John Borling spent over six years in prisons like the “Hanoi Hilton”, having little physical contact with others, he used a tap code developed by the inmates to share his love of poetry. He used his fingertips to tap on the walls the poems he'd memorized and parts of Shakespeare. Then he wrote his own poems to tap upon the grimy walls of the prison, some about the joys of flying. He was a fighter pilot on his 97th mission when his plane, shot down by heavy ground fire, put him in enemy territory. But his human spirit never accepted defeat admit and, amid grim surroundings, he used his creative links to God to make life bearable. The poems are poignant with expression.
But, of course, hands aren't our only creative tool. Dancers use their whole body. And the human voice is the expressive tool of many – singers, actors and gifted speakers to name a few. The Bible tells us God spoke the universe into being.
What is truly remarkable is our ability to adapt when we are robbed of the tools we feel essential. Joni Erickson Tada is one example. She became a mouth painter when a diving accident rendered her paralyzed, without the use of her hands. Blind people learn to read with the braille system and those who are deaf learn sign language.
I recently lost my full range of motion during a fall in the dark when I broke my left arm and dislocated my shoulder slightly. Ordered by the doctor not to use my arm but to keep it firmly attached to my side, I was dismayed at first. How humiliating to realize that I needed others to help me out of bed, use the bathroom and dress myself. But after two weeks in rehab I was home again, all alone in the house and doing everything with one hand. And so glad I was right handed! It just took a little bit longer to do everything necessary. You may ask what has this to do with creativity? A whole lot! It's all about the fact that God has given us an intelligent brain, a true link to Him, the father of all creation.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
