Imagination

With our current “Growing Gardens” Theme from MGT, the kids and I have talked a lot lately about how creative God is. Take the  seed, for example. How incredible to know that within the little shell contains the ability and potential for so much more. Just add water.

We’ve thrown a few seeds into zip-locks with a wet paper towel and have been examining how they respond to these conditions, and watching how the water starts to initiate and unlock this process that is already inside of them. Such creative design.

And to think that we are made in God’s image?!

As a rule-following, give-me-an-example-of-how-it-should-look-and-I-will-try-to-duplicate kind of girl, I appreciate abstract creativity from an outsider perspective. I like order and balance, so all of the houses I drew as a little girl all had the same number of windows on each side, the only thing that could be considered off balance was the one chimney on the roof, but I added that because all the other images I saw had chimneys. So, you know. Gotta follow the example.

But my daughter – man, oh, man. She is all about abstract. She is not only great at free-designing pictures and creations out of blocks/shapes, etc., she is also great at identifying things within abstractions, naming them so that I can then see what she sees. She is going to be a great leader some day.

Today, though, took it to a whole ‘nother level.

This is her tree.

And when asked to explain it, she went into full detail, telling me what was the trunk, what parts “helped hold it up” (as though she recognized that it didn’t quite have structural integrity), what were the leaves, and even added that it had a ‘bad white thing’ on top that if you touch it, it can make you sick. On further investigation, I deduced that she was referring to mold that she had recently seen on an orange at the grocery store that I had told her ‘not to touch because it could make her sick.’

I love how she gets so engaged in her art, personalizing it from her own experiences. And I’m so thankful I thought to ask her to explain it to me, that I didn’t immediately brush it off as a 4 yr olds’ silliness, but really it’s a glimpse into her little world. And I love it.

I love being able to see into her little world and learn more about her.

In the same way, I can look at God’s creation and learn more about Him and His Story, the One who created everything out of nothing – no blueprints or examples to go off of.

His own design.

Natalie calls God ‘original.’ I think she nailed it.