"It was very good!"
I am not surprised to find the craft section in Walmart practically bare. I chuckle when I see there is a shortage of tie-dye, Mod Podge, and even paint. It’s also interesting to find that even needles are in low quantities in Hobby Lobby. We have all had some level of having to hunker down recently. It’s no wonder that with time on our hands, and our kids on our hands, we have begun to have an itch to make something. I recently asked students if they found themselves making something during the quarantine. Some have begun to play instruments, create beats, write songs, make leather crafts, and tie-dye (of course).
There is something so satisfying in making something that wasn’t there before, something that is unique because you’ve added your personal point of view and flair. Can you imagine how magnanimously more fulfilling it must have been for God to speak things into existence? It was void, and then it wasn’t. The emptiness was swallowed up by light, life, order, and beauty.
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
When the Bible says that He beheld what He had made and saw that it was very good, I think what He felt was satisfied. (This is my very puny human word for what He felt.)
Meditate on that.
How many times do you look at something that you have made, struggling through it, seeing only the failures? Pushing through the ugly stage of creating is hard. It feels vulnerable, but once you have finished your creation, I hope that you have experienced seeing that it was very good. It may not be what you imagined. It may have imperfections. For us, the “very good” comes not only by how something looks but also by how we felt during the process. There are many studies out now that explain what artists have known - art making is good for the soul, mind, and body. Handicrafts like weaving, bookbinding, carving, sewing, and woodworking have equally positive effects. It spurs that inner joy and peace that is part of our DNA as creators after God’s own image. Right before school started in our state, we were able to squeeze in a couple of small art camps with kids who braved going out in order to have art and community.
One of the camps was called Art Maker Mash-Up. It was good that it was a small group because we used a lot of supplies, techniques, and it was messy at times. But what a joyous young community. One of our projects failed. I blame the mesmerizing effect of watching my husband and the kids mix water and cement. I forgot that the mixture should have been like peanut butter rather than like runny pancake mix. Alas, our mosaic stepping stones cracked in the end, becoming excavation opportunities for the kids who decided to dig out the sea glass. An attempt that led to a failure presented a new opportunity—the opportunity to fail with grace and to still call the process GOOD. The kids never wavered. No one was too disappointed because it is not only the product that brings joy but the process as well. We looked at our cracked cement and smiled. I think God called it “very good,” and so did we.
