Giving Thanks

There seems to be an unwritten spiritual law that if we want our good to increase, we must focus on appreciating and husbanding the good that we already experience. This can be done by writing gratitude lists enumerating the many things in our current life that are fruitful and rewarding.…We make the very best of what we have and we find that almost behind our back the Great Creator redoubles and reinforces our efforts and makes something even better. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 144

It is important to remember to give thanks and praise to God for what he has done for us. Sometimes we can be so busy going on to the next thing that we forget about what we have already received. This puts me in mind of my mother who constantly reminded me about saying “please and thank you”. It was so ingrained in me that I say the words readily whenever someone offers me something and whenever I receive a gift from someone.

Almost a year ago, I finished my manuscript with the working title, Highway of Holiness: Soul Journey. It was accepted and published by Wipf and Stock a couple of months after that. I was so excited to be published by a “real” publisher once again—somehow this gives more credence to the work that one has done than the self-publishing route, which I had taken several times.

I was ready to go that route once more but I was pleased to have my current book in 2010 and my first book, Prayer Companion: A Treasury of Personal Meditation, back in 2001, chosen and published by publishers who are in the business. I give God thanks for this and also for showing me that I could self-publish my work when it was necessary. This I did with three of my books.

At present, I do not feel drawn to write any more books but I continue writing through my weekly blog, Contemplative Without a Cloister: http://judith-lawrence.blogspot.com and my monthly podcast meditation on my website: www.judithlawrence.ca/monthly.php I give thanks for the opportunity to continue my writing to the glory of God.

© Judith Lawrence

Keep On Keeping On

It is a spiritual law that no loss is without meaning in all of creation.

Because creativity is a spiritual issue, injuries to that creativity are spiritual wounds. [A]n artist’s anguished prayers are always answered by the Great Creator. Even as we sob, “I can’t go on,” we are going on, and we are going on with spiritual assistance. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 244

Walking in the Wind

All of human life is a life of creativity. Each new day brings a new creation; each morning when we get out of bed we will be presented with new challenges for which we must find creative answers.

Sometimes life is extremely difficult and we may indeed cry out, “I can’t go on.” Whether we are facing an illness, a new marriage, or the loss of a loved one; whether we have had our manuscript turned down by a publisher, received a D for the school assignment we worked so hard on, or came in last in the swim meet, the disappointment and loss may be so overwhelming that we don’t think we will be able to try to do it again.

These wounds are more than physical, mental, or emotional—they are wounds to your soul and spirit and, as such, require prayers to be uttered for spiritual strength to be given you so that you can continue on with your life’s calling and challenges.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion, says St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.…Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Eph: 6 New Living Translation.

Keep on keeping on with God at your side; as it says in another translation of the words of St. Paul, “Stand firm therefore and, having done all, stand.”

©Judith Lawrence  

Prayers of Despair

When an artist sends up a despairing prayer, the Great Creator does hear and answer it.

As artists, when human powers fail us, we must turn to the Great Creator for help. We must “surrender” our sense of isolation and despair and open ourselves to the spiritual help we frequently experience as an unexpected inner strength. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 244

When we are in the midst of despair we may make a desperate call for help from God—O God help me, we may say, crying out loud in our desperation.

This prayer will be answered immediately and it is important to keep our hearts and souls open so that we can know the peace and assurance of the grace of God’s answer to our prayer.

If we make our prayer—our desperate cry to God for help, and then immediately go back to despair and anxiety about our situation, it is as if we have closed our hearts and souls to God’s inflowing grace; though we have sent up our request to God we have immediately shut up the conduit to receive the answer.

We are partners with God in both the praying of the prayer and in the receiving of the answer. We say the prayer to God; God hears the prayer. God gives the answer; we, with open hearts, minds, and souls, receive the answer.

It is like a circular flow of give and take, request and answer, speaking and hearing. God makes requests of us also. God calls us to a way of life, a way of creativity, a joyful and generous demeanour. When we respond to God’s call to us that is a form of thanksgiving and gives glory to God.

© Judith Lawrence

Trust in the Power that Created Us

Muskoka River

As we commit to our real dreams, we commit to ourselves. As we commit to ourselves, we also commit to trusting the power that created us. We are then aligning ourselves not with false gods but with the true power of the universe, the Great Creator through whose power all dreams are possible. Julia Cameron, Walking in This World Page 238

Committing ourselves to God in all areas of life makes it possible for all our dreams to become a reality. We commit to pursuing our creative dreams and, at the same time, we commit to trusting those dreams to the power of the one who created us. The Great Creator created us with those dreams instilled in our very being—the dreams we have for ourselves are the very dreams God gave to us at the time of our birth.

Canoe Ride

Sometimes we accuse ourselves of dreaming too big. This is false pride. In most cases we tend to dream too small. God has created us with amazing gifts and dreams and we barely touch the surface of what is possible for us. We doubt ourselves, our gifts, and our abilities instead of committing to and trusting in the power that created us.

Like the disciples, we are astounded by God’s promise to us, but Christ looks at us intently, deep into our soul, and says, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10: 27 (New Living Translation)

Trust then in what is possible with God in your life and on your side; dream big and align yourself with the Great Creator; search deep within yourself for the dream that God instilled in you at the beginning of your life on earth; take hold of that dream and turn it into a reality to the glory of God.

© Judith Lawrence

Creativity as a Spiritual Experience

Composition for Classical Guitar by Morton Lawrence

What if creativity itself is, as our creative ancestors taught us, actually a spiritual experience, a way to touch the divine and allow it to touch us?…

We are an expression of the Great Creator, and we in turn are intended to create. It is not mere ego but our divine birthright to create. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 231

Many of the great composers—Brahms, Beethoven, Hayden—claimed that their music came to them from the divine. As they listened to God in the quiet they claimed to hear the Creator’s music and wrote down the notes that they heard. Living a spiritual life they were open to God within their souls; they were able to touch the divine in their spiritual encounters and thus could hear the music of the Creator and write it down for others to hear God’s creative music also.

The act of creativity is a spiritual experience, a spiritual endeavour, and a spiritual expression. Whether we are writers, composers, or artists we need to be open to listen to God the creator. It is in the quiet openness to the Spirit of God that we can receive the gift of creativity in whatever form God chooses to bless us.

It is up to us to be open to God’s spiritual gift, receive that gift, and use that gift to the glory of God and for the welfare of others on this earth.

© Judith Lawrence

Inner Well of Creativity

Rivulet in Woods

As artists, we routinely tap an inner well, and that well is fed by our spiritual condition. When we have kept our spirit carefully nurtured, the creative water seems to flow easily. When our spirit is dried out with unacknowledged discouragement, our inner well runs dry. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 224

Our inner well is kept filled and flowing by the nurturing of the Holy Spirit. In order for this to happen we must keep ourselves in touch with the God’s word through the reading of Holy Scriptures and through prayer and contemplation in our quiet times of communication with God.

Our inner well becomes dried out when we do not keep ourselves in touch with God’s word, when we neglect our times of prayer and contemplation, so allowing ourselves to become discouraged without the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Muskoka River in July

The water of life is always available to us but we have to ensure that we drink from it. God will not force it upon us but it is there for us to freely receive, fill up our cup, and drink from it.

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. Revelation 22: 1, 2.

Here is the source of all our creativity free to all who will accept it.

© Judith Lawrence

Times of Doubt and Drought

Snow storm in April

Creativity is a spiritual issue, and…the creative life features the same spiritual obstacles as any other spiritual path. The phrase “dark night of the soul” has gained common usage, and we think of it as it applies to the harrowing periods of doubt and drought that may come to someone on their spiritual quest.

Spiritual seekers of all stripes endure its painful ravages…artists are spiritual seekers, and we frequently suffer the dark night of the soul regarding our creative calling. Julia Cameron, Page 191, Walking in This World

At times, when artists take up the tools of their creativity they find themselves facing a period of doubt or drought in their ability to produce the next step in their current project.

Writers may be stymied in where their story should go next; oil painters may not be able to decide what colour they should choose for the next stroke of the brush; a wood carver may be unable to get the eye of the blue jay just right.

It feels as if their talent has deserted them—they are unable to interpret the next step on their spiritual path; they are facing their own dark night of the soul.

When this happens the artist can only wait until the time of doubt and drought pass them by. It is no good berating themselves for their inability to take the next step in their creativity. This is a time for the artist to stop and stare at the beauty around them; this is a time to wait upon the Creator to give them their next step; this is the time to contemplate the Creator and Giver of all things—to wait and see what wondrous gift will be given to them when the time of doubt and drought is passed.

© Judith Lawrence

Spiritual Path of Creativity

When we say that making art is an act of faith and that as we make art we pursue a spiritual path, we are not talking loosely. There is grace in our every artistic encounter. Miracles do happen. We do not plan them. We hope for them and then we are open to the creator’s mentoring hand in improving our suggestions. What looks difficult or impossible to us does not appear difficult or impossible to the Great Creator. … Creative energy is like electricity. It will flow whether we allow it to or not. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 154/155

As a writer, sometimes when I read over what I have written, I wonder where the thoughts or ideas for what is written on the page came from. They came, of course, from God.

I begin every day with quiet meditation and part of that time consists of journaling. When I am in the midst of authoring a manuscript for a non-fiction spiritual book this is where the words and ideas are conceived. I meditate on thoughts and words of other spiritual writers, messages given in the Bible, as well as mystical poetry or writings mainly from 14^th century mystics.

After prayer for guidance from the Lord of what he would have me say in my upcoming book, I just write in my journal, not stopping to over think anything but just writing down whatever comes into my head. Later these thoughts get transcribed into my book manuscript file on the computer.

This is the same process I use for my monthly meditations  on my website and for my weekly blog Contemplative without a Cloister.

This is where I see the “creator’s mentoring hand” and am totally in awe of the miracles God performs in my creative life.

© Judith Lawrence

Grace is Always Available

Grace is available to us always, at any stage of the creative journey.…At all levels of creative endeavour, the Great Creator is present and partnering with us.

Blue Heron, Celtic Knotwork, J. Lawrence

[T]he Great Creator always gives us strength enough and support enough and guidance enough to meet the precise creative challenges at hand. We may be overwhelmed but God is not. If we fail at Plan A, God has an endless supply of Plan B's. There is always not only a fall back position but also a net. That net is having the faith to try again. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 154

Whether we are creators using a paint brush, a pen, or a cooking pot we will be faced with challenges along the way. Sometimes we will feel overwhelmed by what confronts us and perhaps even think that we can’t go on—we feel it’s more than we can handle.

This is when we become aware of God’s grace given to us in abundance. God gives us strength, support, and guidance when we call out to him. We may think our chance has passed us by but if God has called us to do something there is always a way through to the end.

When I became deathly ill in November of 2010, just a few weeks before my manuscript was due in the publisher’s hands, I thought that there would be no possibility of completing that book. God, however, brought me into a fall back position and, with the cooperation of my publisher, I was able to get to the end of the book and see it published.

Partnered with the Great Creator and helped by friends and my publishing partners the work came to fulfillment. To God all things are possible.

© Judith Lawrence

Gateways to the Divine

Crocuses

Each of us carries an inner capacity for awe. One of us will be wonder-struck by a musical sequence. Another of us is rendered humble and serene by the sight of a butterfly’s wing. Each one of these gateways to the divine is there waiting for us to use it to make contact. There are some things that make us happy, some things that we love. For this reason, we say, “God is in the details.” Each of us experiences the touch of the Great Creator when we allow ourselves to touch upon something that we love. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 270/271

Seeing the new spring shoots coming up out of the cold winter ground so recently covered with snow gives us hope of new life, new birth. Warmed by the sun, the first crocuses open their blooms in colours of purple, yellow, and white. This is truly amazing! Though I’ve seen it all before, I cannot help but be amazed by the awesome creation of God, and I give a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving to God.

Coming at a time so close to Easter and our annual reflection on the resurrection of Christ from the dead, these first spring flowers rising through the brown earth give us reassurance of the hope that is ours through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we, too, will rise to a new birth and life in the hereafter.

God gives us so many gateways through which we may glimpse his divinity—the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly; the returning birds building their nests, laying their eggs, nurturing their brood while giving up all thought of their own needs; the seeds of vegetables planted in the garden and providing a hundred-fold of produce for us to eat—all this and much more gives us the knowledge that God is the great provider of sustenance for the earth and all creation.

God’s grace and beauty is everywhere if we open our eyes and hearts to see and believe.

© Judith Lawrence

Divine Inheritance

Our creative energy is our divine inheritance.

When we insist on playing God by trying to be all-powerful and all-understanding and all-giving and all things to all people, God can work no miracles in our own lives, because we never allow the time or space to let a divine hand enter our affairs. While it is true the divine source is an inexhaustible flow, as humans we are finite. We do tire, and we tire most easily from tiresome people. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 109 and 114

 We must be wise in investing God’s inheritance. We must be careful not to squander God’s inheritance on those who spend our time and energy foolishly.

Does this sound selfish to you? If so, then read the parable of Jesus about the ten bridesmaids. Matt. 25: 1-13.

Jesus tells us five of the bridesmaids were wise and five were foolish. The wise bridesmaids took extra oil for their lamps whereas the other five took only the oil that was in their lamps. When the call went out that the bridegroom was coming, the foolish ones realized that they did not have enough oil to take them through the whole night and so they asked those who had brought extra oil to share it with them.

If they had done as requested all ten of the bridesmaids would have run out of oil during the night so the wise ones refused to share and told the others to go to a shop and buy some for themselves. They did so but when they returned they were locked out of the ceremonies.

The wise bridesmaids held on to their divine inheritance by not giving it away to those who hadn’t taken care of the gift God had given them. They had all been invited to the marriage feast but the foolish ones were unprepared and then expected the wise ones to pick up the slack. If they had done what probably seemed the generous thing to do then they all would have squandered God’s gift and God would not have been honoured as was the divine due.

We must learn to say, “No” to many requests so that we have the time and space to say, “Yes” to God’s requests.

© Judith Lawrence

Creativity and Christ’s Word

We speak of the Great Creator, we speak of Christ but seldom make the connection that the spiritual laws he taught are actually the spiritual laws related to creativity. “Knock and it shall be opened.” “Ask and you shall receive”—these are not mere spiritual bromide, they are spiritual laws as they relate to manifestation…Creative dreams come to us as visions that we are charged with fulfilling. When we allow the Great Creator to do this to us, through us, then we are aligning ourselves with the spiritual power necessary to negate the “odds”. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 92/93

In the Gospels we can read many of Christ’s instructions to us. Most Christians are familiar with the words, [E]veryone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7: 8 Christ tells us to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. It is no good asking, seeking, or knocking only once because we have to show perseverance. As in the old adage, If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.

Perhaps we get an idea or a dream for a writing project. Then the idea has to be developed. In order to do this we have to think and expand the original idea. It is good to seek the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance to bring our project to a good fulfillment. We align ourselves with spiritual power when we follow Christ’s Words and spiritual laws such as the ones quoted above.

© Judith Lawrence

Making Something of Ourselves

Candles

Our inner world is a complex, exquisite, and powerful play of colors, lights, and shadows, a cathedral of consciousness as glorious as the natural world itself. This inner wealth is what the artist expresses.

The Great Creator lives within each of us. All of us contain a divine expressive spark, a creative candle intended to light our path and that of our fellows. We are shiny, not tarnished; large, not small; beautiful, not damaged—although we may be ignorant of our grace, power, and dignity.

The human being, by definition, is a creative being. We are intended to make things and, in the old phrase, to “make something of ourselves”. Julia Cameron, Walking in this World Page 57

When I close my eyes and allow myself to go into a contemplative mode, I often see coloured lights, flashes of purples, blues, greens, and yellows. I am amazed at the beauty of this internal wealth.

Coloured crayons

A few years ago, I had a bleed in one eye and I lost the sight in that eye for several months. I could see nothing outwardly but inwardly there was a whole world of movement and life going on. I could see little people jumping about on furniture, running and apparently laughing, though I couldn’t hear any sound; they seemed to be having a great time.

Though I was concerned that I would never regain my sight in that eye yet I couldn’t help but enjoy the constant entertainment this inner pageant gave me. This must have been the “divine expressive spark, the creative candle intended to light [my] path” that Julia Cameron speaks of.

It seems as if we are never alone, the Great Creator lives in us giving us grace, power, and dignity even in our most difficult times. God continues to create and grow within us and we must continue to create and make something of ourselves no matter what our circumstances.

© Judith Lawrence

Moving Closer to God’s Intention

It is spiritual law that we are in the process of becoming what we already are—perfect creations of a perfect creator. This means that at our most awkward and ill at ease, we are still in divine order and moving ever closer to God’s intention. Faith in this process, a belief that we can change and still experience the unchanging support of the universe, is critical to any sense of comfort as we grow. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 51

When we see the art we do now, especially at the beginning of our lives of creativity, it is hard for us to imagine what we will be able to produce and what we, as spiritual persons, will be at the end of our lives here on earth; but what God intends that we should be are “perfect creations of a perfect creator”.

Learning to Walk

A baby at the beginning of her life is not expected to walk or provide her own nourishment and yet, as babies in our new-found creativity, whether writing or painting, whether crocheting or knitting, whatever our creative field may be, we often expect ourselves to be perfect immediately and are impatient with our beginner and imperfect status.

We are not perfect creations yet but we are in the process of becoming perfect creations. If we are imperfect in the beginnings of our creativity it is to be expected and is a necessary step on the way to becoming better. It is through recognizing imperfections and learning skills that will help us improve that we go through the process of becoming the person God intends us to be.

Celtic Knotwork by Judith Lawrence

In the non-linear and timeless world of eternity we already are perfect creations in God’s sight; but living in a world of time and step-by-step growth we are in the process of becoming those perfect creations of the perfect Creator.

© Judith Lawrence  

Transformation Comes to us when we are Ready to Transform

Red Caterpillar

It is a spiritual law that when we are ready to transform, transformation will come to us. We are all conduits for a great creative energy that seeks expression in us and through us. When we yearn to be different, it is not just our restless ego. It is our accurate response to the creative energy within us that is seeking a new venue for expression. We are all creative and we are, in turn, creations. Just as we get restless to make something new, so, too, our creator may be restless to make something new from us. …We slip gently and quietly into a series of changes that we may set in motion through our own hand but experience as the hand of the Great Creator working through us. Julia Cameron, Walking in This World Page 49

                Cocoon

Butterfly Transformed from Caterpillar

I wind silk around my being,

Silk spun from my own inner self,

I bind myself in darkness,

To be transformed into a new being

Of light and freedom.

I am becoming a winged creature,

A being capable of spiritual flight

Into the rarer atmosphere,

Nearer to the Creator of life.

I learn to temper the once

Destructive powers of my will,

Binding them with silken bonds

In the dark, silent cocoon.

In the quiet darkness

My being is transformed;

In the silken, gold-glittered,

Chrysalis, hidden and

Protected ’neath my Creator’s hand.

Slow is the secret process within;

So much to be done; change

Cannot be rushed, if beauty

Is to be the new being’s end result—

If my transformed being,

My freed, winged being,

Is to be revealed, soaring

In rarefied air

To the glory of God.

© Judith Lawrence

Cooperating with the Great Creator

We are spiritual beings, and when our spirit grows larger, so must we. There will be no comfortable resting in yesterday’s definition of ourselves. It is spiritual law that as the Great Creator is always exploring, experiencing, and expanding through its creations, we must cooperate or feel the pitch of spiritual dis-ease. We can try to play small, but if the universe has big plans for us, we are better off cooperating than resisting. Creativity is God’s true nature and our own. As we surrender to becoming as large as we are meant to be, great events can come to pass for us and countless others. In a sense, the size the Great Creator makes of us is none of our business. We work on art and we are the Great Creator’s work of art. Perhaps we shouldn’t meddle. Julia Cameron, Walking in This World   Page 45

As the fruit of the spirit grows and matures in our lives so does the art of the spirit. We tend to make ourselves out to be smaller than we should—smaller than God calls us to be—thinking that to down play our talents and gifts is a virtue. We think that we are practicing humility by making less of our creative gifts than they are worth. This is not right. This makes us ungrateful for the gifts we have been given by the Creator.

God gives us immeasurable gifts and amazing talents. In order to honour the Creator we need to reach beyond where we are now, practicing and expanding the gifts we have been given, so that we make the most of our gifts and use them for the glory of God.

Let us always look towards trying our best with what God has given us so that we can thank God for our creative talents and show forth our praise of the Great Creator.

© Judith Lawrence

Listening to the Still Small Voice

Quiet Pathway in June

We are made by the Great Creator and we are intended to be creative ourselves. As we seek to cooperate with that intention, the still, small voice that all spiritual paths speak of becomes an ever more present reality. When we “go within,” there is someone or something there to meet us and it is not mute as to our identity. Julia Cameron. Walking in This World Page 39

Those of us who try to practice contemplation and go within to the deepest part of ourselves where our soul is one with God will hear, or see, or know the presence of our Great Creator.

We will be given guidance as to what God wants us to do—our identity and calling will be made clear to us, not necessarily in words but, perhaps, by an overall sensation of what we are intended to do.

Those of us who are writers may be called to various branches of this calling within the all encompassing call of writing as our creativity given to us by God. Some mornings as I practice my quiet time with God I find myself called to write a poem, sometimes God gives me an insight for a blog to write on this site, at other times I get an idea for a monthly meditation on my website. www.judithlawrence.ca/monthly.php 

Listening to the still, small voice is very important and this means finding a time and space to meet with God daily.

© Judith Lawrence

Grace of Creation

Summer Pathway

When we are afraid to begin [our creativity], it is always because we are afraid we are alone. …But we are not alone. God is present everywhere. The act of making art is a direct path to contact with God, and we do not need to travel any geographic or psychic distance to experience the grace of creation in the grace of our own creating. Julia Cameron, Walking in This World Page 21

When we are practicing our art—writing, book-binding, Celtic Knotwork—whatever it may be, we are connecting to God, walking to God, on a direct path.

When we practise our creativity we experience the grace of God’s creation in the grace of our own creating.

God is the Great Creator and God gives to us the gift of creativity. God wants us to share with him and our fellow human beings, the great joy the gift of creativity affords in our lives.

Those who make heavy weather of their creativity have not fully accepted the gift of creativity given to them. God desires us to delight in our ability to create and when we take on our creativity with reluctance, misgiving, or a heavy heart it is as if we are rejecting God’s gift to us.

So lose the attitude of guilt, reluctance, or unworthiness when practising your creative gift; take up your creative bent with whole-hearted joy, reverence, and gratitude, Experience the grace of creation in the grace of your own creating.

© Judith Lawrence

Meeting our Creator through Creativity

As we go within, we discover that we are not alone there. The loneliness we fear finding in art is actually the loneliness of disconnecting ourselves from our creativity and our creator. As we try our hand literally at the making of something, we do meet our maker. As me try to make more and more, more and more is made of us and through us. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 5

You will hear many writers say that writing is a lonely business. I have to say that I do not find it so. Perhaps it is because I like the solitary life that I do not find being an author a lonely life.

If one is to do one’s best writing one needs to be alone. Having a lot of people around when one is trying to concentrate on writing a chapter of a book or a paragraph of an article distracts one from the task at hand.

The task at hand of making art needs our full attention as well as our joining with our Creator in prayerful partnership. It is much more difficult to connect with God and our creativity if we have to attend to the needs of others while we are trying to attend to our creative work whether it be writing, painting, or needlepoint.

When we allow ourselves to be alone and not think of it as being lonely, we can tune into our creative work and be at one with our Creator.

© Judith Lawrence

Nothing is too Small for God

Chipmunk

Nothing is too small [for God]. Nothing is too large. As we practice walking …we begin to get a notion of the scope and scale of God—one eye on the sparrow and the other on the vast and starry universe. We are a part of all that, and, by the simple act of reaching out our hand to connect, we become a partnered part of life. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 5

When I was a child my father took my brother and me for long walks each Sunday evening. This was the time my mother went to a church service—in the morning she was busy getting the Sunday dinner—my father would take us to church in the morning and on a walk in the evening.

Night Sky

On these walks together my father taught me many things about nature. He always had his eyes open for something new and unexpected and would share his sightings with us and, at the same time, teach us to be observant of what was around us. As we learned to be alert to God’s creation we also learned about the Creator’s care for what he has made. It is exactly as Julia Cameron says, God has “one eye on the sparrow and the other on the vast and starry universe.”

We, as creators of our own art in whatever form, must learn to be as caring and responsible of what we create, whether it is writing, painting, book-binding, sewing, or baking, as God is of his creation.

As we walk and pay attention to what is around us in the form of God’s creation we will learn to become as caring of our own creativity as God is of us. God is our partner in our works of art and in all parts of our lives—our friendships, our work, our sadness, and our joy. By walking with God we begin to see the vastness of his love and caring; we begin to see how nothing is too small for him and nothing too large for his concern.

© Judith Lawrence