God meets our needs
Advent
On the journey to creative and financial freedom as pursued by solopreneurs, online writers, small business owners, etc., it is hard to keep going without the necessary wherewithal. Often, there is simply a need to survive, never mind thrive.
A catch-22
If you find yourself in this camp; I am sure you can relate to my observation as gleaned over the years. Most of us who yearn for something different find ourselves in a trap of at least two options: on the one hand, we are always trying to find the time to do what we love; conversely, when we have the time, we do not have the funds to set out on our own.
Seemingly, it is the conundrum and catch-22 that has always beset the artistic ones in their communities, why parents have cautioned budding artists to consider stable jobs, albeit in finance or whatever and keep art or content creation as a hobby.
And they mean well. Artists like Van Gogh, who died penniless and as a perceived failure, have done little for this admirable pursuit. And yet, for artists, there remains something akin to a calling in their hearts.
How miserable haven’t many blocked artists, writers, creators, etc. been after following the advice. Even the ones, who have made it, regale tales of suffering and hard times, often a deterrent to those who want to eke out a life of stability.
The artist’s conundrum
Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, remarked: “For many of us, raised to believe that money is the real source of security, a dependence on God feels foolhardy, suicidal, even laughable. When we consider the lilies of the fields, we think we quaint, too out of it for the modern world. We’re the ones who keep clothes on our backs. We’re the ones who buy the groceries. And we will pursue our art, we tell ourselves, when we have enough money to do it easily. And when will that be?”
As I reflect on this, I am convicted of my own heart, once again. God is the source and provides for my needs.
A friend of mine shared with me that God’s economy is abundance. AND, He has always been faithful. Why then, do I doubt? Why do you? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.
I recall those days when I was so unhappy at work. The dream of being a journalist just would not allow me to languish away doing work I did not enjoy. I am a words person not a numbers girl.
Yet finance, admin jobs and the like seem to lure me in and keep me hostage. Even if it meant that the longer I tilled those fields, the further away I was moving from fields of my dreams. Fear also had a stranglehold on me.
A telling conversation
It is why a conversation I had with a young gentleman in a cell-phone store a few years ago struck such a chord. He told me, quite frankly, that he was stuck in his job. I knew exactly what he meant. When I had found myself working in a call centre; I had exactly the same mind-set.
While working in that industry, it seemed as though one quite simply could not find employment in other sectors and neither did one have the time to look for other jobs. I have since written about the transferable skills I learnt as a result, but at the time it was dark. The silver lining is that I was able to study part-time and find employment in the direction of my heart.
But back to that young man. The point I want to make is that he could very well make a change – but it would cost him – time or money, probably both. He would need to (re)train, which would require a significant investment of money and being in an industry where the pay tended to be low; there was not the luxury of having lots of cash to burn. Sacrifices would have to be made and he did not seem to be quite in the mood to do that.
We live in a country with an extremely high unemployment rate; hope and opportunity do not come around every day. In addition, the nature of this young man’s job forced him to work long hours to make ends meet.
Naïve
I still think about him from time to time. All to aware, I know what it took for me to break a self-inflicted cycle. I do not blame anyone. I was simply too naïve growing up – I thought it would just work out miraculously to be honest. My parents were professionals – teacher and tutor at a nursing college and so much of my rather pampered early life came to me so easily. Was I in for a shock!
Yet, looking back, I believe it shaped me to be who I am today. By God’s grace, I like the person I have become. Has her life worked out remotely how she envisioned it? Absolutely not.
Like the artists of old, who sometimes struggled as much as the rest of us, we need to make a decision to pursue the music, art or drama in our hearts.
There is a choice to be made: tap into the messages of our hearts that beckon us to explore it further or will we resist it and follow the road others have trodden. And this road, though it has been tried and tested and though it is almost fool-proof, will it make us happy?
I think that is the question? If one is a free spirit with a bent for exploration, and a heart for the creative and beautiful, then a safe behind-the-desk job very well could lead to the slow death of an artist, writer or creative.
Artful living
But undergirding this is that sense that we cannot sustain an artful living, that it does not make enough money to keep us out of debt. Yet for the soul who has had the Creator imprint in his heart and who has been imbued with incredible creative and artistic talent, perhaps his greatest privilege is to live this life with the abandon of a fulfilled artist.
I just watched Luciano Pavarotti sing Nessun Dorma again a while back. Mesmerised once again, I believe he is probably the most famous performer of this particular aria from Giacoma Puccini’s Turandot. The world would be an infinitely poorer place if he had not applied his mastery and magic to opera.
I watched as the audience erupted in enthusiastic, energetic applause in response to the absolute wealth of talent and beauty he unstintingly gave them.
Curtain close
Nessun Dorma was also the way the curtain closed on a storied career. It was also the aria he performed the last time the world would be treated to a public performance, singing as he was at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
But what if … what if he had stopped when he was booed at La Scala in Milan earlier on in his career? What if he had pursued his teaching career instead of pursuing what was in his heart?
And what if he had decided to sing in the shower only and not share it with the world? He would probably have received nuisance complaints for noise depending on where he lived and not the accolades that have been showered on him.
Lilies in the field of dreams
With Advent in its last week and the anticipation for Christmas heightened, let us consider how we can glorify God with the talent he has bestowed so richly on us. If we fear his provision, let us consider the lilies of the field that according to the Bible surpassed King Solomon in all his splendour.
God will provide as long as we pursue the dreams he has placed in our hearts, trust in his provision and live according to his purposes.
Moreover, slowly but surely, we are inching closer to the new year. Posts and videos for goal-setting tips in preparation of 2024 are starting to appear. I pray that God and his plans for you are in the forefront of that planning and that you will trust God for the provision.
I would love to hear stories of God’s miraculous providence. Please tell me about it in the comments.
If you have found some inspiration in this, please like the post by clicking on the heart at the bottom of the post. Support on social media would also make this heart happy.
Please note Scripture quoted throughout is taken from the New International Version.
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