Monday Musings on the Creator in Me

Creative Comfort

For me, this summer has been a time of deeper discovery about what it means to have the Creator in me. I guess you could say that Truth which has long been resident in my head is taking hold in my heart. I like that. It's a really hard process, but I'm grateful for it. 


Lately I've been dwelling a lot (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) on the Holy Spirit aspect of God -- and in the wee hours of this morning, as I stroked the fevered head of my DD9 and she sweetly thanked me for taking such good care of her, it occurred to me that my actions were evidence of the Creator in me. Verses like these came to mind:


And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever (John 14:16).


But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26).


At 3:00 a.m., I knew that it was God the Comforter working in and through me --"teaching me all things" -- to make me a loving, comforting mama because I really wanted my bed. But it also got me thinking about ways that I make a conscious effort to be a comforter to my children, and wrestle with my flesh to let the Comforter Spirit work through me because I know that's what I'm called to do. I'll be honest and say that it doesn't always come naturally to me to be a comforter. But, inspired by real people like Sally Clarkson and Ann Voskamp, I have come to appreciate my need to be deliberate in my demonstrations of comfort -- to be creative in my endeavours to make my family feel better about life when they're "down" in some way. 

So, when someone is sick, we have a tradition of trying to make sickness sweeter with the delivery of meals in bed on a specially decorated tray:

When emotions are big and blustery, we have a basket of books in a quiet corner -- a place to meet Peace, often in the comfort of a cuddle. 

Perhaps it's not a good thing -- at least for our waistlines -- but comfort often involves food in our home. When someone has had a bad day, smiles surface at the sight of a special snack. I know better than to offer a cookie as a quick fix for a scraped knee -- but sometimes a specially presented little treat helps to sweeten a sour day. 

Occasionally,  bad-day-blues are blown away with a good read-aloud book -- especially by candlelight on the front porch on a cool summer evening.

But outside of the standard hugs and kisses -- and of course prayers -- offered in teary times, I have to say I'm hard-pressed to think of other creative comfort ideas. I suspect the Creator Comforter might be willing to change that if I have the wherewithal to ask next time -- especially if I'm not feeling particularly sympathetic with the one craving comfort. I'll have to make a conscious effort to do that. 


In the meantime, do you have any creative ideas for providing comfort to those you love? I would love for you to share your ideas and experiences in the comments below. Let's inspire each other, shall we?