The Spark

Every week I write my thoughts out for this space.  Some weeks I know exactly what I want to write about – some weeks I write more than once on the website!  More and more I have come to realize that teaching, creativity, serving, leading, helping others – all of these things – take a spark.

The spark is creativity, love, truth – fueled by Christ living in me.  I am loved by the Father of lights and led by the Holy Spirit – but sometimes it seems that I have nothing left.  Sometimes there is no spark.  Sometimes this is sleep or diet or lack of self care.  I don’t want to sit around and do nothing – I want to serve and teach and make a difference with Jesus.  What I have found, though, is when the spark is missing – I am much less effective.  I still show up (faithfulness is good!) – but something is just missing.

This week I was at the park and on the ground was (what I thought was) a flower.  I bent down to look at it – and realized I had found something I had never seen before – this flower shaped thing I had picked up was wooden – it had fallen from the tree.  This was some sort of pine cone or nut that I had never seen before.  This was a spark – something familiar enough to recognize, but the closer I got the more I realized it was different – and it drew me in.  I have kept this whatever-it-is on my desk for this whole week as a reminder.

I think this is how our Creator is – familiar but just different enough that our curiosity draws us closer.  As we get closer to Him we realize He is familiar – but so different than who we are but everything we want to be connected with and even emulate.  This spark – put into our music, pictures, teaching, leading, conversations, serving, caring – draws people closer to us, and Christ.  This is the spark I want in every thought, every service, every teaching.

So here is where my growing needs to happen – because wooden flowers aren’t always going to fall from the trees.  I have found the sparks come much more often when I am filled with gratitude, when I smile and laugh, when I have taken care of myself.  They come when I have filled up with prayer and worship, when friends around me love me and we have fun together.  This is the fuel – and when the spark comes – my life alights with the love of Christ – to bless others.

Today I wanted to share these thoughts with you – to drop a “wooden flower” to you – and invite you to experience the “spark” – creativity, truth, love – in Christ – that can shine in your life and help others.  May you be filled with the fuel of life, and may the spark set your life on fire for Jesus.