I'm not creative. AT. ALL.
There, I admitted it. Although, since this blog is basically for my children, it will come as no surprise to them. Oh, there are some things in which I excel: Posters. Yes, posters and...well, okay...mainly posters. When my kids have had to make posters for reports at school, or signs if they were running for a school/club office...I.AM.YOUR.GIRL.
And I love it.
Not gonna lie...I'm pretty good at it, too.
Clearly, writing letters on a poster board with magic markers qualifies as "creative" in my mind. Don't take that away from me.
That's where my creative abilities end. I stink at everything else: house organizing, decorating, sewing, planning parties, being crafty...even choosing clothes and putting outfits together. Not good at any of it.
But, like with sports, I like to think that I make up for what I don't know...with enthusiasm.
My two sisters, Leanne and Robin? And my daughter, Holly? They are good at it all! I must've been watching a football game when God handed out the creativity genes. Or, maybe He figured that, with 3 boys, I wouldn't need to know how to arrange my furniture...as much as I would need to know how to use the super-glue to repair all the furniture the boys would scratch, chip and break during their lives! And, honestly, when it came to throwing parties for boys, my experience was that they weren't really concerned with the leaves and branches I spray-painted for decorations (in an effort to keep things "organic" and "not girlie). They basically wanted to know, "where's the food?" THANK GOODNESS...because I can cook for boys.
So, somehow I've been able to limp thru life up to this point.
Enter: Pinterest.
Now, when Leanne and Holly, invited me to look at their Pinterest "boards," I had no clue what they were talking about. I'm technologically up-to-date like that. They talked about "pinning" things to their boards. I didn't get it. "Pin" it? For WHAT? Oh, I can just "like" it? Okay...but why do I have to click on it and let people know that I "liked" their pin? Can't I just say, "oh, that's cute?"
No. No, you canNOT.
So, as with most things new and technical, Holly set up my Pinterest account for me, and helped me with it until I got the hang of it all by myself.
And then, hellooooo time-sucker!
I wasn't on Pinterest a week before I got a message from a sweet and well-intentioned friend, expressing her concerns about how she thought it (Pinterest) was negatively affecting our younger generation of women. Mainly, she was concerned that it, and me talking on social media about how FUN it was, might be making them discontent as young women and wives; that when they saw the different sites, they would wish for what the other person had...the perfect wedding, the coolest fashion finds, their "dream home"...and be dissatisfied with what they had at home. And then what to do with the feelings of disgust (mixed with awe and envy) for those women who seem to LIVE to post hundreds of pictures of the perfect bridal shower that they threw for their college roommate's brother's fiance. Or the elaborate birthday party some mom threw for her 3 year old twins (Color-coordinated paper straws...are you kidding me? Because the ones they don't end up using as swords, trying to poke some kid's eye out, will be soggy in 2 minutes).
Don't even act like you don't know what I'm talking about.
And, as fast as the pictures were "pinned," emails and blog posts came faster...challenging the priorities--and even the spiritual depth--of the creative women who somehow manage to live well, and be good moms and employees and friends...and still pull off really cool parties for their families and friends. God bless 'em, is what I say.
My mind doesn't think creatively. My furniture stays in the same exact place unless we move...and fashion? I would wear warm-ups every.single.day. if I could. I speak the truth, young Padawan. As far as parties go...in my early days as a mom, my kids' birthday parties were basically some sort of cake or cupcakes...and bright, red Hawaiian Punch. I know, right? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Kids don't care. Now, parents are throwing kid parties that have bounce-houses, pony rides, zoo animals and "spa" parties, and you know what?
WHO CARES?
Seriously. I wish we, as women, would stop fussing over what other women choose to do or not do. Breast vs bottle, working mom vs SAHM, family size, homeschooling vs public school, public school vs private school...on and on and on. I've been there. I'm ashamed to say that I fell into that trap at one point. I know the pressure is there to do more, or to do things differently. But if your friends know YOU and love YOU, and if you are doing what GOD is calling you to do, and not one thing more...isn't that what matters?
Still, when it came time to plan my daughter's wedding reception, not gonna lie...I thought, I've got this: cake, punch, nuts...and a dish of those little pastel mints. That's okay, right?
Oh, no ma'am.
At least I had the good sense to call in reinforcements: Leanne (Momma didn't raise no fool). She planned everything and pulled it all together...and it was beautiful: a beautiful end to a sweet ceremony, and a thank you to the precious family and friends who had gotten us to this point in our lives, and had come to share in our joy.
Just last month, Holly and I helped with a wedding shower at church for someone we didn't even know. We weren't trying to impress anyone...we just wanted it to be cute. Because, hello? Girls...wedding shower...cute? We saw some ideas on Pinterest and, because my mind doesn't think creatively on it's own, I was able to see what they did...and we replicated it, and everything turned out just like we wanted! And I was SO excited! Not in a "look what we did way," but in an "We can be crafty, too" way! I was proud...but it was because we saw an idea, and then attempted to re-create the parts of it we liked...and it actually turned out! It was SO FUN seeing it all come together!
You know that not everyone who dresses fashionably, decorates their home beautifully, or plans fun and creative parties is shallow, right? They aren't always "prideful" and may not be trying to show off for their friends. Some people are just wired that way. They just love to give...and love to plan. They thrive in situations where they can take a vision and bring it to reality. It's a gift, really. And, typically, they love doing it, and find JOY in making other people happy.
I have no problem pulling out plain, white napkins to use if we run out of the ones that "go" with all the decorations, but I have friends that that would really unnerve. They wouldn't think less of ME...it would just bother them that every detail wasn't in place. Perfectionists? Maybe. I prefer to think of them as diligent, caring, attentive and insightful. These same friends are loving wives and moms, Christ followers...humble, gentle, kind people who want to do their best in every project.
We need to be careful in painting people...women...with one broad brush. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to judge someone's heart by their Pinterest boards.
And I hope you won't, either.
"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us." (I Corinthians 12:4-6)
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