You Are Born To Create
It never occurred to me when I became a Christian that my creative nature was integral for my destiny. In fact, it wasn’t considered at all. Rather, what I learned in my first decade as a Christian was that understanding the Bible was primary in importance and that the best way to discover my destiny would be in learning the Word (Bible).
Yet, this is not where I had my most profound experiences with God. He came to me in creative ways, as I sang and created songs about Him or danced before Him in my quiet devotional times as a teenager. I found God in the plays we performed at prisons in my teen years and in the way I would walk by my river and allow the beauty all around me to speak of His love for me.
In other words, my experience didn’t match what I was told to believe. One side seemed sterile and rigid, while the other seemed wild and free. Although I know that Bible study is important and knowing theological beliefs is necessary, I found my greatest epiphanies came in a relational model of flexibility and creativity. The creative nature of God wasn’t just found as I read the Bible, but was an interactive force desiring to be found as I interacted with His many creative ways of revealing Himself. I found He was profoundly unpredictable in the WAY He would show up and reveal Himself to me. Yet, I was never taught that this was important or valuable to pursue.
Yet, I realized that others like maybe you had found a way into the wardrobe of God’s creative nature too, later in life.
Finding the Wardrobe
In my book, Born to Create, my second chapter is about “finding our way back to the wardrobe.” This is an inference to CS Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and how Lucy, who is the youngest in the story, finds her way into the magical land of Narnia because she wasn’t full of adult speculation and reason, but rather her heart was full of wonder and faith in a greater reality.
Matthew 18:3-4 says: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. A child isn’t afraid to create and play - in fact that’s how they explore the world around them.
For me, I was so grown up that I had forgotten the wonder of how God made us in His image - creative (Genesis 127). I was taught to question my imagination because it could be evil. Did you get that? COULD be evil. Yet, when Jesus redeemed mankind – EVERYTHING within us was made NEW - and that includes our imagination.
In my third chapter of Born to Create, I talk about taking back our sanctified imagination because it is THERE that dreams are birthed and what is impossible becomes logical.
For example, let's look at Walt Disney
The Road to Disneyland: A Story of Relentless Persistence
The incredible journey of Walt Disney and his vision for the Happiest Place on Earth is one of the most famous stories of overcoming adversity in business history:
The Vision: In the 1930s and 1940s, amusement parks were frequently viewed as dirty, unsafe, and geared only toward teenagers and thrill-seekers. Walt envisioned something entirely different: a pristine, family-friendly park where parents and children could have fun together.
The Skepticism: When Walt pitched his idea to investors and banks, he was laughed out of the room. Critics thought a theme park was a guaranteed financial disaster, and even his own brother and business partner, Roy Disney, was initially highly doubtful of the concept.
The 302 Rejections: Determined to prove his vision was possible, Walt went from bank to bank to secure a loan. Legend states that he was turned down an agonizing 302 times before finally getting a "yes" on his 303rd or 305th pitch.
The Breakthrough: Realizing traditional banks wouldn't fund his dream, Walt took matters into his own hands. He took out heavy mortgages on his own home and borrowed against his life insurance policy to finance the initial developments.
The Triumphant Opening: Walt's unyielding determination paid off when Disneyland officially opened its gates in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955. The park was an instant cultural and financial phenomenon, welcoming its one-millionth guest just seven weeks later.
Walt Disney's refusal to accept "no" transformed a seemingly impossible "crazy idea" into a global empire of theme parks that continues to operate and expand worldwide
The Power of Our Creativity to Dream Beyond What Others See
I know I’m talking to someone out there who is reading this, who feels like their dreams are impossible like Walt Disney’s seemed to be. If we let others, money, circumstances, logic get in the way of a God dream and our unique purpose - we will never be completely fulfilled because we were born to fulfill the dreams God has given us.
This is why I wrote this book - for you. I want you to discover that your creativity and your sanctified imagination ARE PART OF GOD’S PLAN for YOU! And like Disney, He will give you the creative wisdom and tenacity to see it through.
But Disney couldn’t do it alone and neither can you. We NEED a community of faith filled creatives who will dream WITH US and help us not give up.
Remember, you are born to create and dream BIG like Disney did and never give up!
Let’s go ride together and find Aslan’s tracks.
-Theresa
