I’ve been noticing more and more recently how much my son wants to emulate my husband and me. He is 17 months now, and is becoming more physically capable of actually doing things on his own. He can wash his own hands (with the help of a step stool, of course). He feeds the cats every morning. He carries in a loaf of bread or something else equally undamagable when I carry in the groceries from the car. He has watched me floss every day for about 7 months (before that I have to admit I didn’t floss much except right before the dentist appointment…). About two weeks ago he decided that he wanted to floss too. So now I give him a small piece of floss and let him have at it. He doesn’t actually get the floss between any teeth. He mostly just says “mmmmmm” at the minty taste. But the proud look on his face makes my heart overflow with love. He’s flossing just like his mommy.
And then there was the other day when we got home from the grocery store. We were getting all of our shoes, coats, hats, etc. off and settling in when my son just kept opening the coat closet door. I thought he was trying to unwind the cord on the vacuum so I kept closing the door as he opened it. But he was so persistent that I finally just let him open the door. He took off his baseball cap, and reached up as high as his little arms would go, and it dawned on me…he was trying to put his baseball cap away where his Daddy’s baseball cap usually resides. I didn’t even know he had noticed where his Daddy kept his hat…let alone want to keep his there too.
I guess the point is…my son wants to be like me and like my husband. He wants to do the same things and hold the same things and see the same things. I think it is natural for a young child to want to be just like his mommy and daddy.
So it dawned on me today as I was finally sewing the binding on to a quilt that I started about four years ago. The needle worked its way in and out of the fabric, and my mind wandered as it usually does during craft projects. I wondered why we are so willing to spend so many hours on art. On creating things like quilts or paintings or sculptures. My finger was getting quite sore and I was trying to decide how much longer I wanted to spend…but I realized that I was emulating my God. The first Creator. Maybe humans love art because it brings them closer to God. Maybe it’s worth it for me to spend hours on a quilt because it gives me something in common with my creator.
It made me wonder how God views my art. I hope he views it like I do my son’s flossing. The beauty on this earth is so expansive that I could never fully comprehend it…but I try anyway to understand it…to capture it….to express it…so that I can be a little like my Creator. I hope He looks down on me and my creations, and feels and warmth in His heart, and is proud.