The Joys and Glories of Creation

Heavenly Father wants me to find, and use my talents. He wants me to know the joy of creation. I am meant to develop the gifts that He has given me, and share them with others. Perhaps the world will be the recipient of my talents, or perhaps my audience exists in my own home. The size of the audience does not matter; the size of my joy matters.

My joy matters to Heavenly Father.

I recently received a blessing -- a Father's blessing -- and I was reminded of the need to use my individual talents, in very specific ways. It was a uniquely special blessing, and it filled my heart to know that my Heavenly Father wants me to develop, and improve, in the things that I love to do. He wants me to take the time to become more skilled and proficient in the particular things that I enjoy, and might even have a knack for. I was a bit shocked at some of the "requests" that Heavenly Father made of me, but my heart filled with hope, especially knowing that He cares what I choose to do.

It has taken me a while to discover what I really love to do. I was the kind of girl in college who could not settle on pursuing just one field of study. I tried a bunch of different kinds of courses, but nothing was calling to me: nothing felt natural.

I thought I might be inclined towards Psychology, and become a counselor. I took a lot of courses, to see if it was right for me. I liked the idea of helping others overcome their problems. But the deeper I got, the less appealing the idea became. I knew I would have a hard time abiding by such rigid rules, when offering guidance to others. I determined I would make a dreadful counselor; I am far too opinionated for such a career. I would also have a serious problem becoming emotionally involved with each client; separating business and personal is not an easy task for me.

As time has gone on, I have learned more about myself, and what I really love and enjoy doing. I am inclined towards things that require creativity and observation. I have discovered that I am a sort of extroverted-introvert. I love to speak, teach, sing, and be in front of others in various ways: I enjoy it, a lot. But when it comes down to having a social life, I lean towards intimate family and friends, and I am totally happy being at home doing my thing. I prefer one-on-one interaction over having large groups of friends, because I love to deeply connect with others.

The more I learn about myself, the more it makes sense why I love to do certain things, and not others. For example, I love to do Photography because it is a way that I can step back and observe the world around me, while capturing the beautiful things that I see. I have always been an observer, even a philosopher of sorts. It is very distracting, actually, when I am in a classroom setting. I can have a hard time focusing, as my mind wonders and wanders, to the moon and back.

One of the nice things about Photography, is I give a purpose to what I already do naturally. I have always been taking pictures. I take notice of everything around me. I love people. I love to people-watch. I love to capture people in pictures, because it allows me to see the very best in them, as I zoom in on the details of their eyes, or face, it helps me to see, perhaps, a bit of who they really are. And nature, well, I love taking pictures of nature, because it is simply capturing the beauty that God has created.

I also love to write. I have always loved to write. I do not recall doing extremely well in my English classes, or anything technical like that. But I have always enjoyed writing things down in a journal, or on a blog, or just getting out my thoughts and feelings. It is like a form of exercise for my brain and emotions. Getting the thoughts out of my head and down in words, is like busting out a 10 mile run; I receive a sense of peace and accomplishment when I finish and walk away.

Anne Frank expressed my thoughts exactly:

I want to go on living even after my death. And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, the possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. 

Writing and photography, seem to be patterned perfectly for my particular personality. I am able to do my introverted-observer thing, and yet I can still let out the extrovert in me, by sharing my thoughts, and my pictures. When I write, or work on a batch of pictures, it feels so natural for me, it makes me feel alive: I enjoy it immensely. 

It makes me happy, to have found what I love to do.

I am a writer, and I am a photographer.

It makes me a little nervous to say out loud that I am a writer, because I have not been exposed to the study of writing in a college classroom, or other educational venues (other than the core English requirements). But I do write. And there are plenty of English majors that never lift a finger to share their thoughts with the world. Even though they have the ability to craft a perfect sentence, they do not do it, and therefore, they are not a writer.

We are what we consistently do, or so they say.

I have just recently allowed myself to acknowledge that I am a runner. I am not built for running. I do not have the body of a sleek gazelle, that can outrun a predator. But I do run. I run almost everyday. This makes me a runner. The same concept applies to writing, photography, singing, or any other talent that can be developed simply by doing it.

So, what is my point? Do I even have a point? I often don't, and yet I still write.

My point is, it is good to seek out the things that you love, and then do them. If you love to bake, then make a batch of cookies, and share them with your family or friends. If you love to draw, then pull out your sketch pad, and start to doodle a masterpiece. If you love to sing, then pull out your favorite music, and belt it out like a Diva. If you love to dance, then go and shake it, baby!

I was told in my blessing, that by using my talents, I will find great joy. This has been repeated in each blessing I have received, since Charles passed away. If I am having a particularly lame day, or if I am feeling low, I know it is time to whip out the camera, or start writing. (I take pictures and write when I am feeling happy, too.)

I need to experience the joys and glory of creation.

When I create, sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.