Survival as an act of creativity.

By mmayer

Proverb 8:1-14,22-31

Does not wisdom call out?
    Does not understanding raise her voice?
²At the highest point along the way,
    where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
³beside the gate leading into the city,
    at the entrance, she cries aloud:
⁴“To you, O people, I call out;
    I raise my voice to all mankind.

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,^[c]^[d]
    before his deeds of old;
²³I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
²⁴When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
    when there were no springs overflowing with water;
²⁵before the mountains were settled in place,
    before the hills, I was given birth,
²⁶before he made the world or its fields
    or any of the dust of the earth.
²⁷I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
³⁰    Then I was constantly^[e] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
³¹rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind.

Video

I was there, before anything was created. I was beside him when everything was made. I delighted in it all, and in the people he created. Lady Wisdom working with God in Proverbs 8.

God made everything wisely and well, Proverbs 8 tells us. In spite of everything, there is an inbuilt joy and delight running through the heart of creation.

Suleika Jaouad’s latest book is ‘The Art of Alchemy’, about living creatively. When she got hit with her 3^rd bout of leukemia in her mid 30’s, she had no strength left to power through as she had done earlier. Under the intense chemicals, she was having vivid, distressing dreams. Lying in her hospital bed, with no dignity and little hope left, she started to paint the figures from her dreams as best she could. Afte a while, she found a comfort in that, and even more, she found she was starting to address her fears, and work with them, rather than have them take over what was left of her life. She reflected, “Live each day like it’s my last? What a burden. I’m choosing to live each day like it’s my first.”

She encourages us to see surviving difficult or horrible things as an act of creativity (both God’s and ours). She does that through her daily practice of journalling, paying attention to herself and what is happening around her. She encourages us to get curious about the things we are afraid of, and to work with them, rather than let them take over. She encourages us to choose what is life-giving for us, rather than let our fears run our life.

When you are forced into survival mode, don’t lose heart. Call out to God for help. Don’t be afraid of feeling foolish at times. You will receive help at the right time. A way will open up for you.

Pastor Michael Mayer