The Artisan Soul (18 page)

It was almost as if the natural wonder she saw in her daughter reawakened the wonder and creativity within her. Corrie met another stay-at-home mom in 2007. They both had a passion for kids' vintage clothing, so they started a company called Homespun Vintage. They started slowly by sourcing vintage kids' clothes from thrift stores and flea markets, and then in 2011 decided to manufacture and produce a small collection. Working around their children's schedules, they found a way to squeeze in work during nap times and evenings.

I share this not because Homespun has become a global fashion brand, because the reality is that after three years, Homespun is barely able to pay its bills. The lesson is that two friends inspired each other to begin to turn their lives into masterpieces. They have great marriages and great children; they are beautiful people who make the world better simply by living in it; and now they are venturing to express their full creative potential by adding to the beauty and wonder of the world. It shouldn't surprise us that two moms who love their kids and love making beautiful things out of discarded materials would create a children's fashion line called Homespun Vintage.

We see this all around us, from Blake Mycoskie, who decided somebody needed to put shoes on children and started TOMS, to Scott Harrison, who felt compelled to provide clean water to Africa and started one of America's top-rated organizations, Charity: Water, to my beautiful wife, Kim, who fearlessly leads teams into the depths of human suffering and tragedy in places such as Bangladesh, Tanzania, and India. All around us, there are men and women committed to living their lives passionately and courageously, never relinquishing their childlike wonder and refusing to surrender their ideals. The artisan soul believes in the best in all of us, and therefore refuses to accept anything less for themselves.

If this book is of any value at all, it is my hope that you will once again see yourself through the eyes of a child, or at the very least see that you, too, were no ordinary child—that you are, in fact, divine material. Just as the Lord God told Jeremiah that before he was born he knew him and while he was still in his mother's womb he called him out, this same truth applies to you. In the full meaning of the word, you were born a masterpiece, a work of art, an expression of the divine imagination, but you are both a work of art and an artist at work, and this is why the life you live and the choices you make are critical. We can deny who we are and say that we are not creative, we're not artistic, we're not imaginative, but this doesn't excuse us from our responsibility. You have been given a great gift, and that gift is your life. This life was never intended to just be endured or survived.

Life is a creative act. And as Henri Matisse once stated so succinctly, “creativity takes courage.” The things that make us most human are the expressions of our most artistic selves. To love is humanity's greatest achievement. There is nothing in the universe more beautiful than this. While the common materials for the human experience far too often come from our experiences of pain, loss, and betrayal, it is hope that brings the bright colors to make life an indescribable work of art. And then there is the indomitable character that emerges from what would otherwise be an ordinary human being and that is forged through a life of faith. We imagine and dream, but when we are changed, we create.

This, in the end, is what makes the human species distinct from all other creatures: we are creatures of faith and hope and love. If these are the colors with which we choose to fill our pallets, if these are the hues in which we choose to dip our brushes to touch our canvases, then whatever the final product might be, whatever the world may see on the canvases of our lives, in the end the result will be the same. It will be a masterpiece, and you will know without arrogance or embarrassment that your life was your greatest work of art and that against all odds, from your first breath to your last, you never relinquished your artisan soul.

T
he artisan soul demands of us the hard work of beating out the metal into the form that expresses its greatest beauty.

We stand between the anvil and the hammer—positioning ourselves in the very place where God can form us into his work of art.

Below are practices to guide you through this creative process. Remember that you are both an artist at work and a work of art. Take time to allow God to make you a work of art, so that your life can be the most beautiful expression of your artisan soul.

Soul: The Essence of Art

The hard work of caring for our soul

       
Make love the unifying principle of your life—let love inform all your motives, decisions, and actions.

       
Set time apart to be alone—begin with fifteen minutes a day to decompress and reconnect with God.

       
Begin a practice of prayer and reflection focused on gratitude.

       
Use the Psalms as a guide to work through your emotions, questions, and aspirations.

       
Allow the Scriptures to inspire you and awaken your artisan soul.

       
Take time to see and absorb the beauty and wonder all around you.

       
Take time to enjoy life, and make sure you laugh a lot.

       
Connect to a community of faith and open up your life to others.

       
Do more of the things you love and less of the things that kill your spirit.