Parenting as a Creative Act
This post references parenting and not all of us are parents either by choice or circumstances. Please know that if you have lost children, or the journey to parenthood has been blocked, I mourn with you. Whoever God has placed in our lives to nurture, child or other blessed life, may He give us the creativity to do so well.
“We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.” (Cameron 1992)
We are creative beings. As artists, it is easy to believe in God-inspired creativity while artmaking, but every part of our lives—including our parenting—can be a creative act. What would it look like to consider our parenting as artmaking?
There are “beautiful” parenting moments: when cradling my daughter, or when my toddler hugs my neck and whispers, “I love you, Mommy.” I long for those moments, but there are so many “just-get-through-the-day” moments too: stress, anger, yelling, spilled juice (again), lost toys, and all-night sickness.
Rather than falling prey to endless scrolling for that “perfect” activity or trip for our children that will create that “perfect” moment, let’s dive deeper into what creativity in parenting looks like when motivated by God’s creative Spirit.
As artists, we develop our “internal ear.” We carve out time to listen to our soul as we create so that we don’t miss out on inspiration. Time is a scarce commodity for parents, but what if we brought that same soul-listening into our parenting? “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). If God has blessed us with the gift of children, why would God not also bless us with the time we need to parent well? A great portion of parenting well is the time we take to pause, breathe, and notice. What a gift for our children to see us taking time to listen to our souls when faced with “trials of various kinds.” (James 1:2 ESV) This life is not a race or competition. By stopping, we give ourselves the chance to see into the very heart of God.
As artists, we recognize that our creativity is simply opening to God the Creator’s creative flow in us. It is not a fist held tight around the brush, pen, or camera. Equally, our parenting is not a power struggle. Let’s take heart in the truth that our children are not the masterpieces we are working on. We can entrust their lives to God. The piece we are working on is parenting itself—really, ourselves.
And the most limiting factor in our artmaking is ourselves. Our negative thoughts begin to sound like the only truth, imposter syndrome sets in, and lack of discipline becomes easier. Parenting presents the same difficulties. The cure for the tortured artist/parent is to zoom out and gaze at the greater picture. Our art and parenting are (almost unbelievably) part of a greater story the Creator of all is bringing into existence. “Our works do matter. Our words do matter…because what we say and do today can last eternally!...if built upon the foundation of Christ.” (Fujimura 2020) Parenting and art have an eternal impact.
We can fuse our parenting and artmaking, opening every part of our lives to the creative process. The God of all Creation called us to parent our specific children and develop ourselves as artists. If God has gifted us with such responsibilities, the Creator will provide everything we need to be creative in Christlike ways that will stand through the fire and form the foundations of God’s new kingdom.
Katelynn Camp
Author Bio
Katelynn Camp unexpectedly found her life partner in South America and she has not left yet. Her children, River (3) and Melody (1), are living a rich, third-culture kid experience as redheads in Latin America.
Katelynn started writing in grade school. Her first screenplay flopped, though, when none of her young girlfriends wanted to kiss the neighbor boy’s hand. She did not give up and now has a Bachelor of Arts in writing from Biola University. She has dabbled in magazine writing, copy editing, proofing, poetry, and novel writing. Inspiration strikes her when out in nature, so you will often find her mountain climbing, running, sitting by a lake, or (her favorite) chasing waterfalls. To experience more of Katelynn’s writing, visit https://www.katelynnmarie.com or write her directly HERE.
Works Cited
Cameron, Julia. 1992. The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. New York: Tarcher/Putnam.
English Standard Version. N.d. James 1:2.
Fujimura, Makoto. 2020. Art and Faith. New Haven: Yale University Press.
New Living Translation. n.d. Ephesians 2:10.
