{"id":39206,"date":"2024-10-31T10:05:07","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39206"},"modified":"2024-10-31T10:31:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:31:44","slug":"soul-vision-finding-light-in-uninspired-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/soul-vision-finding-light-in-uninspired-moments\/","title":{"rendered":"Soul Vision: Finding Light in Uninspired Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uninspired.<\/strong> 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\u2019m not too fond of the feeling. Perhaps this is why I chose Andrew Peterson\u2019s Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making.<\/em> This book, a memoir and a handbook, is about finding inspiration and harnessing creativity from a Christian perspective. I was looking for reassurance\u2014something 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, \u201cThe secret is that there is no secret. All you need is to force yourself to do it.\u201d[1]<\/a> Here, I found comfort: we are called to create even when inspiration runs low, even when no masterpiece emerges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s work centers on creating from a personal and communal calling that reflects God\u2019s creative nature. Although it is not a traditional leadership book, Adorning the Dark<\/em> explores the journey of faith, creativity, and the communal life of an artist. I am not an artist, but I resonate with Peterson\u2019s 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\u2019s idea that \u201cbeing a person is to be in communion, to be in a relationship.\u201d[2]<\/a> Zizioulas adds, \u201cPersonhood is realized through self-giving love, not through individual achievement or isolation.\u201d[3]<\/a> Creativity, then, is not just a solo pursuit but an expression of relational, communal life.<\/span><\/p>\n

This community-driven creativity also connects to N.T. Wright\u2019s idea of making<\/em> as part of our divine calling. Wright states \u201cThat, I believe, is central to the notion of being made in God\u2019s image. God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected\u2026through his human creatures.\u201d[4]<\/a> God invites us to act as stewards in His creation, joining in His creative work. Inspired by these reflections, I was drawn to Peterson\u2019s life example, knowing he, too, lives out this calling in a creative, Christ-centered community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peterson captures this well: \u201cCommunity\u2014especially Christ-centered community\u2014nourishes art [or creative activity], and art [or creative activity] nourishes community.\u201d[5]<\/a> For him, creating is not just an individual act but a response to God\u2019s 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. \u201cWhen I wanted to quit,\u201d he writes, \u201cit 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.\u201d[6]<\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps providentially, I also came across Lilias Trotter\u2019s A Blossom in the Desert,<\/em> 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 \u201cSoul Vision,\u201d she writes, \u201cThis is the true inward vision, the faith of seeing…not merely flashes of light that visit you from time to time\u2026but outside yourself\u2026in Him who God has sent to be the Light of the World.\u201d[7]<\/a> Trotter\u2019s words add depth to Peterson\u2019s, framing creativity and calling as acts of soul vision,<\/em> where our focus shifts away from self-reliance to reliance on Christ as our constant guide and source of inspiration.<\/span><\/p>\n

When considering both Adorning the Dark<\/em> and Trotter\u2019s reflection on Soul Vision<\/em>, I see how vital faith and a \u201cyes\u201d to Christ are in living out our communal calling. Faith \u201cto see\u201d 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 \u201clooked\u201d with \u201cheart sight as well as eyesight,\u201d[8]<\/a> and both she and Peterson display their calling with steadfastness, anchored by their vision of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s advice resonates with me here: \u201cLove where you are.\u201d[9]<\/a> So, in this journey of faith and creativity, may we, like Peterson and Trotter, learn to see with \u201cheart sight\u201d\u2014finding the courage to say \u201cyes\u201d to Christ and to love and serve faithfully, even in times when we feel uninspired.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s 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 \u201cyes\u201d to His call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making, <\/em>(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2019), 69, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> John Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church, <\/em>(Yonkers:\u00a0St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> John Zizioulas, Being as Communion<\/em>, 45.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church<\/em> (New York: HarperOne, 2008), 207, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark,<\/em> 92, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid, 79.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Lilias Trotter, A Blossom in the Desert<\/em> (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1913).<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Lilias Trotter, A Blossom in the Desert<\/em>, 24.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark,<\/em> 90, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019m not too fond of the feeling. Perhaps this is why I chose Andrew Peterson\u2019s Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making. This book, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2967,1778],"class_list":["post-39206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03","tag-peterson","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39206"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39213,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39206\/revisions\/39213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}