I tell my children they are special. They have gifts and talents and personalities that make them who they are. I tell my boys that God gave them their strong muscles, not to hurt anyone, but for helping. I tell my daughter she is so smart, talented, and caring, and to use those things to be a blessing to the people she is around.
It’s so easy to see the blessing others are in the world, and yet so hard to see ourselves as valuable. But friend, I want to tell you, YOU have a special gift to give the world. There’s no one else who can give your gift to the world. Only you. Each individual on this planet has had their own life, their own experiences, their own thoughts, which are unique and special.
I have to remind myself of this on the days when I look at the work I’ve been making and hold it up against other people’s work and see all my weaknesses and failings.
I feel defeated.
I feel like giving up.
Why Bother?
 Because right now, there is someone out there with a wound in the exact shape of your words. – Sean Thomas Dougherty (The Second O of Sorrow)
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So, don’t give up. Create something. Something beautiful that comes from you.
What happens when you turn off the TV, the social scrolling, the podcasts, the sports? The quiet of your own thoughts greets you. What is churning inside of you? What intrigues you? What puzzles you? What are you thinking?
It’s not easy to make something. Tough noogies. Make something anyway. You have something to give to others, and it’s not the latest gossip or small talk. It’s something real and if you don’t start trying to get it out,
it
will
be
lost.
Lost because what you can offer the world is something that only you can offer the world. Something that is stirring inside of you. The gift from your Creator to join Him in creating.
So, what stirs within your heart when I talk like this? A book? An artwork? A garden? A recipe? An invention?
I would love to hear about it. I would also love to see it when you create it.
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But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career. – Madeleine L’Engle (Walking on Water)
If you enjoyed this post from Charlotte, check out her fabulous illustration work at www.charlotteglaze.com!
Charlotte Glaze
Charlotte Glaze is a Christian, a wife, mom, and creative. She's currently working towards being published as a picture book author/illustrator. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two children. She enjoys traveling the world, photography, belting out show tunes, and drinking tea. She graduated from ORU and has worked as a web designer, graphic designer, and teacher. She is a member of SCBWI and SVS.
