Monday of the Third Week of Advent
If we have forgotten the Name of our God,
or stretched out our hands to some strange god,
Will not God find it out?
For God knows the secrets of the heart.
Psalm 44:20-21
I open the new pack of felt tip drawing pens with a sense of devotion. I had forgotten about them, only discovering them in a drawer when I was looking for something else. I don’t know when I bought them, but I am sure I did so as a treat to myself. I have another pack, well-used and missing at least one color, which I have had since high school when I won an art competition and used the gift card I received to purchase some high-quality art supplies.
Just taking in the newness and brightness of the pens brings me pleasure. And also a note of caution. I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to art stuff. Several drawers of supplies for unfinished projects, a few craft kits unopened, boxes containing the ends of things (bits of fabric, used bottles of glitter glue, scraps of decorative paper) that might be useful someday.
I wonder. Does my grasping for and holding on to creative supplies actually clutter the creative process? When I surround myself with fine materials, do I make idols of the stuff, when what I need is just to immerse myself in the Creator?
