Get 'er done Prov 23

For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe one with rags. Proverbs 23:21

Continuing our talk on creativeness...and what we can learn from it.

2. There is value in beauty. This verses proves that being covered in cloth is not a goal. How you cover says a lot about you. There are times when being clothed in rags is acceptable...when you are scooping out hog barns or painting. The rest of the time, being clothed in rags says you are poor, or you are lazy or irresponsible. Learning to dress well, to have a pleasing fabric, cut, or grade of fabric for what you wear or use is part of being human. We are told not to worry about what we wear, but we are also told not to look like a bum unless you are John the Baptist out in the desert. We are told to work hard, and to dress modestly, but with a bit of decorum. We are reflecting who God is in our everyday life. And clean tidy, well-fitting and designed clothes are one way to do that.
3. Creativeness helps tell the world who God is. If we all wear the same clothes, in the same color, with the same cut, I'm sorry, it wreaks of Mao Tse Tung. I think of the pictures of Communist China. Everyone looked alike. The hair to the shoes, there was no distinction between people. They were all the same. Treated the same. Pawns in the chess game. God created people differently. We should be distinquished from one another. God says He will judge us all, but that we will be judged on the gifts we were given. Not everyone has the same gifts...not everyone has the same job. Not everyone has the same interests or skills. And we should reflect that on the outside and through what we do. Everything from letterhead of a business to the color of the walls and carpets tells us something about the people we are dealing with every day. If you go and look at the paint chip department at Menards or Lowes, you will see there are those little variations between colors, even on one card, let alone the hundreds they have to pick from. We are all like that. We may be similar, but we are not the same. And that is a good thing. And God Himself is like the rainbow...He is every color, coming out through His Son shining after the rain of our sin. He shows us the beauty that is still there and that He will make something good happen, redeeming and not destroying.
4. There is function in beauty. I have become a volunteer in many causes. Quilts of Valor is one. We all make quilts for veterans. Most of them are red, white, and blue, but not all. And the variations of patterns are innumerable! Many do buy a kit for a certain pattern and make the quilt the same, but many others take their own fabrics or ideas and make them. They serve a function, and that is to honor the men and women who have served our country and paid for it with years of their lives and possibly other inner and outer scars. The function is to let them know that someone, and lots of someones out here in the cheap seats, appreciated what they gave. Their service is not forgotten. They are not forgotten. Now if we all made the same quilt, mass produced, they might feel appreciated, but knowing that these were handmade by some one individual, they feel more special. This isn't just another medal for their uniform. It is a piece of the person who gave it. That function of taking the time for someone is what quilting is all about. Anyone can buy a blanket. Quilters give their time and heart and soul with their gift.
5. There can be valleys for craftswoman. Even writers get writer's block. Quilters weary of their project the longer it takes. I finished a quilt last night for my nephew. I couldn't wait to see it finished! We are eager to start, but anxious to finish. UFOs abound. We get tired of seeing the same fabric, the same blocks, the same seams, the same quilting motifs. We sense that there is so much more out there to do and we want to do THAT instead. We get sidetracked by life and can't work on things when we would like. Even Jesus walked away from healing to take some time away. As humans, even the things we love get to us after a while. The museum may hold our interest for a time, but by the end of the tour we aren't reading the plaques as thoroughly. We feel the need to do something else, go somewhere else. We have to get out. Every once in a while something will be so great that we have to be drug away, but these things are few and far between. We need to give one another grace for the weary times, but encourage the finish. Paul says he needs to press on to the goal. We have to set goals. Deadlines are helpful. We love to create, but the results are usually slower than we would like. Imagine building the great cathedrals and never seeing them done! If that is our calling, work on, knowing that someday the finish will be spectacular in the eyes of God and man. Do what you are called to do, and find the end. The results will be useful. A half-done quilt or dress or whatever cannot serve the purpose for which it is being made. Get 'er done. Count the cost, and finish.