God keeps reminding me of the various gifts and bents He's given me - writing and poetry, drawing, dancing, singing, acting, cooking, and gardening. Am I a master at any of these things right now? Oh, no. I'm not even close. I'm one of those 'Jack of all Trades' people. However, I can look back on my little life of nearly thirty years and identify seasons when I excelled more in one art than another. In junior high, it was writing and drawing. In high school, it was acting and piano. In college, it was dancing and more dancing. Currently? I'm a pretty decent cook and gardener.
All of those seasons of life, as different as they were, share one thing in common - consistency. Now that I cook on a daily basis, I can whip up a basic curry in under half an hour and bake a decent pie from scratch. The past three years, my husband and I have experimented with and successfully kept a vegetable patch. I placed in a writing tournament at districts because I wrote in my journal almost every day and dutifully attended all of the writing team practices. Because there were plenty of opportunities to dance and sing between show choir, musicals, plays, swing clubs, contra dances, and concerts in high school and college, I became a decent singer and even better dancer.
This little revelation is both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. Certainly, consistency is key. Unfortunately, the consistency that brought fruit in each area was imposed on me by outer influences and obligations. I had to go to concert choir rehearsal if I wanted an A, and consequently, I learned how to harmonize. Any attempt at consistency that I put on myself more or less drove itself into the ground and died in a heap. Most likely, I got bored, or sick or busy or sad that I didn't produce something "awesome"(read:marketable)
Ironically, I made this discovery in the middle of some consistency. In a strange moment of cautious ambition, I decided that I was going to develop my drawing skills and do one sketch a day. Now, you must know that with two children under the age of three, such a feat would be manageable on a good day, and courageous on a day when nap time takes a turn for the worst. So, by day four, sketches weren't happening..at least, not on my terms. I wasn't able to sit and do a perfect still life, but I drew a rough sketch of my very willing to model but not so willing to sit still toddler. On day five, he liked it so much, he asked that I draw him again. On day six, however, he wished to dance, and dance we did. At the end of that day, I was a little frustrated that I didn't get to sketch, but I realized that we did do something creative together - we choreographed a dance number...and I learned a little about patience and wrote a blog about it. So, I didn't get to sketch, but I got to do two creative things, and to be honest, I was starting to get a little bit bored and frustrated with sketching anyway.
So, in light of this little discovery, I've made a decision. To hone these gifts, everyday, I am going to do one thing, big or small, in one of my creative bents. I can do the same thing for a several days in a row if I choose (such as working on one painting) or I can do something completely different or something really small. As long as I make an effort, it counts. It doesn't have to be awesome, it doesn't have to be awful, it just has to be done, and I have to record it here. Yesterday, I made a small watercolor painting. Today, I'm writing a long blog post. Tomorrow, who knows? It will probably be something small, like a quick gesture sketch or just breaking up some ground in the garden.
If you're interested, I wouldn't mind company on this little journey of pace-ience and consistency. You can join me in any capacity you like. Do you have a talent or gift that you would like to develop? I'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment. :)
Happy Creating,
Gabby
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