Soul Vision: Finding Light in Uninspired Moments
Uninspired. If I were to choose a word to describe the past few weeks for myself, this would be it. I am afraid of this word. I’m not too fond of the feeling. Perhaps this is why I chose Andrew Peterson’s Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making. This book, a memoir and a handbook, is about finding inspiration and harnessing creativity from a Christian perspective. I was looking for reassurance—something to show me that inspiration could be restored. Peterson encourages readers to keep creating, regardless of whether the idea is fully developed or feels profound. He writes, “The secret is that there is no secret. All you need is to force yourself to do it.”[1] Here, I found comfort: we are called to create even when inspiration runs low, even when no masterpiece emerges.
Peterson’s work centers on creating from a personal and communal calling that reflects God’s creative nature. Although it is not a traditional leadership book, Adorning the Dark explores the journey of faith, creativity, and the communal life of an artist. I am not an artist, but I resonate with Peterson’s vision of community and making. His emphasis on fellowship in creative work speaks to a broader Christian calling, one that values connection over individual achievement. This communal calling is central to Christian belief, echoing Eastern Orthodox theologian John Zizioulas’s idea that “being a person is to be in communion, to be in a relationship.”[2] Zizioulas adds, “Personhood is realized through self-giving love, not through individual achievement or isolation.”[3] Creativity, then, is not just a solo pursuit but an expression of relational, communal life.
This community-driven creativity also connects to N.T. Wright’s idea of making as part of our divine calling. Wright states “That, I believe, is central to the notion of being made in God’s image. God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected…through his human creatures.”[4] God invites us to act as stewards in His creation, joining in His creative work. Inspired by these reflections, I was drawn to Peterson’s life example, knowing he, too, lives out this calling in a creative, Christ-centered community.
Peterson captures this well: “Community—especially Christ-centered community—nourishes art [or creative activity], and art [or creative activity] nourishes community.”[5] For him, creating is not just an individual act but a response to God’s call within the support of a Christ-centered community. He recounts the highs and lows of his creative journey, describing the fear and doubt he often faced, balanced by the encouragement of a close-knit community. “When I wanted to quit,” he writes, “it was my membership in that community of songwriters that stood me up, brushed off my knees, and helped me to believe that music was worth fighting for.”[6] This could apply to any setting, where the support of a shared community helps renew commitment to the work we feel called to do, even when inspiration falters.
Perhaps providentially, I also came across Lilias Trotter’s A Blossom in the Desert, which brought more light to these reflections. Trotter was a promising young artist who gave up her pursuit of art to dedicate her life to ministry. In her reflection “Soul Vision,” she writes, “This is the true inward vision, the faith of seeing…not merely flashes of light that visit you from time to time…but outside yourself…in Him who God has sent to be the Light of the World.”[7] Trotter’s words add depth to Peterson’s, framing creativity and calling as acts of soul vision, where our focus shifts away from self-reliance to reliance on Christ as our constant guide and source of inspiration.
When considering both Adorning the Dark and Trotter’s reflection on Soul Vision, I see how vital faith and a “yes” to Christ are in living out our communal calling. Faith “to see” sustains us and gives courage to create. Whether we have reached a peak of creativity or feel uninspired, our soul vision in Christ can remain steady. Trotter exemplified this as a woman who “looked” with “heart sight as well as eyesight,”[8] and both she and Peterson display their calling with steadfastness, anchored by their vision of Christ.
Peterson’s advice resonates with me here: “Love where you are.”[9] So, in this journey of faith and creativity, may we, like Peterson and Trotter, learn to see with “heart sight”—finding the courage to say “yes” to Christ and to love and serve faithfully, even in times when we feel uninspired.
Let’s go forward in this, knowing that while inspiration may come and go, a soul vision fixed on Christ can keep us moving. With that, we can say “yes” to His call.
[1] Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2019), 69, Kindle Edition.
[2] John Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church, (Yonkers: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997).
[3] John Zizioulas, Being as Communion, 45.
[4] N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (New York: HarperOne, 2008), 207, Kindle Edition.
[5] Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark, 92, Kindle Edition.
[6] Ibid, 79.
[7] Lilias Trotter, A Blossom in the Desert (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1913).
[8] Lilias Trotter, A Blossom in the Desert, 24.
[9] Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark, 90, Kindle Edition.
About the Author
Elysse Burns
15 responses to “Soul Vision: Finding Light in Uninspired Moments”
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Thanks so much Elysse, for your honesty and reflection on leadership. I think leadership and creativity have a lot to do with each other and these texts are an important reminder to keep going even when we are uninspired.
Where are the areas God is encouraging you to “keep going” this week even though you are feeling uninspired?
Hi Ryan, Thank you for your question. I really struggled to get excited about my recent design workshop. Every moment of planning felt heavier than it should have. However, the night before my workshop, I was standing on my balcony and saw a little girl dancing in the middle of a dirt lot. Seeing her dance with so much joy and abandon reminded me why I am doing this program, to see locals empowered and to find freedom. This image of the little girl gave me just enough inspiration to successfully get through the design workshop.
Hi Elysse, I liked the reciprocity in community nurishing art and art nurishing community. In your current setting are you able to find places where you are nurished with a community. Your comments about continuing to “just do it” and to continue to create when the inspiration is not there brought me back to something Jason said early on – when you can’t get your blog together, you just have to do it – put something on paper (totally paraphrased). Yet, there is truth in it. Thank you for saying YES to Christ in your life and work and continuing to continue. I pray you extra blessings in this period of being/feeling uninspired. Peace
Hi Diane, Thank you for your kind comment and your prayers. Community has been challenging here in the desert. It feels very disconnected and rarely reciprocal. Creativity and beauty are things we have to initiate ourselves, which can also be challenging. However, the Lord has been good to give us what we need right when we need it! We have a beautiful beach and this has been very life-giving for me.
Hi Elysse, I am not a creative either, but loved the applications you made to leadership. Where do you wish you had more inspiration and what blocks are you experiencing to ‘just do it’?
Hi Christy, I would love to create spaces for my local friends to be creative (food-related, discussions, art, etc.). However, I am afraid of the commitment, but I have been feeling more and more like this is a risk I should take.
Elysse, as a musician, I’m intrigued by Peterson’s work. Thanks for sharing this book title with me.
One thing I was wondering as I read your post: how do you apply these ideas about making and creating in your own life?
Hi Debbie, Thank you for your question. I would love to grow creatively here in the desert. Everything has to be self-driven, which can be exhausting, especially when there is little reciprocity and not much beauty. Most of my efforts are put into building relationships here, which is beautiful. I would like to intentionally make spaces where my local friends can be creative (food-related, discussions, art, etc.). This has been a commitment I have been afraid to make this year, but I am more open to it now.
Elysse,
I think that Christians in much of the US have lost our sense of creativity. Just take a short look back at Christian music from the 90’s and 00’s! Thankfully, it is getting a little better. Our churches are the same though. Christians used to worship in magnificent buildings and now so many churches are in school gyms and old warehouses. Some of this is because expansion has been quick but some of it is simply a lack of imagination. I am always blown away by the magnitude of cathedrals (like the one I went to in DC). How might we as Evangelicals gain back some creative work?
Hi Adam, I enjoyed reading your observations concerning Evangelicals and lack of creativity. I agree with you. During our Oxford trip, I was able to stop in London and see Westminster Abbey before the start of the Advance. I remember being overwhelmed by all the “stuff,” but also moved by the history. Thinking back to our conversation about Bebbington and Evangelicalism, I think one of the issues is we don’t know who we are, so we just copy whatever church is “successful.” I believe if we gain more insight into our history and intentionally highlight this history, we may be able to grow in creativity and uniqueness.
Hi Elysse, Thank you for your post. I have also been recently reflecting on community. I’m wondering about the community you may be developing in your contacts. And what ways has that community inspired your creativity now or perhaps in the past?
Hi Julie, Thanks for your comment and question. I have always loved to invite people into my home. Here in North Africa, I have had to be creative in doing this in ways that will best suit the culture. For example, about two years ago, Easter and Ramadan overlapped. I wanted to share the story of Easter, but I knew I had to wait until the fast broke. Well, we got creative and had a Good Friday Iftar. All the women who came were not believers, but there was community and camaraderie in breaking the fast, and they all expressed openness to hear the story of Easter. I am always trying to think of creative ways to bring women together in spaces where they will feel comfortable but will also be exposed to something new. I have made many great friendships this way.
Thanks for this post, Elysse.
I love how you wove in the reminder from Metropolitan Zizioulas that we are created for community, and thus our gifts are offered for the building up of the body.
Along with Peterson’s point that we continue to offer our gifts even when inspired, I’m curious whether the same communal calling could also create the opposite effect, that it’s ok to NOT create sometimes. As the saying goes, “it’s ok to not be ok.”
How do you think Peterson would respond to this idea of permission to not create, but to lean on others as part of community? I’m thinking of “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no-one to help them up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
Hi Joel, Thank you for your kind comment and question. It’s a good one. What I gathered from reading “Adorning the Dark,” is that Peterson speaks mostly to the perfectionist tendencies that can prevent us from creating. However, he talked a bit concerning your question about leaning on community when we cannot and maybe should not create. Right before an important concert, Peterson lost his voice. He found himself in a position where he had to trust his band to do the concert without him. Because of their tight-knit community, he was not concerned about this. He was happy to give them the stage. Ultimately, his voice returned, but he realized he didn’t have to force himself to perform with a compromised voice. His community was fully capable of doing this. I think this is a good example of not forcing yourself to create, but to give others the space to “step up.”
Thank you, Elysse, for the words of encouragement. I have been wrestling with the issue of just trying to push myself over the line to at least getting something done. Thankfully, with the Grace of God, I am still in the game. And also thank you all for all the encouragements that helps push me along the way as well.
Aside for community of Christians, have you thought of maybe a community of Christian Leaders?