Day 31 of Embracing Your Creative Gifts: Nurture the Next Generation

 

Sometimes, the best thing you can do to nurture creativity is to give your child the time, space and security to do their own thing. – Victoria Wilson, Boost Your Child’s Creativity

Nurturing children is one of the most creative things we can do. In parenting or teaching, we are co-creating with God, working with what God has created to bring forth the best in that child. We want that child to fulfill their God-given potential, to be who God created him or her to be. It is a huge responsibility and honor to play a part of that.

Like each of us, children come into the world with a certain set of abilities and gifts. Children will tend to indulge in play that reveals their natural abilities. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the time and space and love to figure out who they were meant to be. A child who is told what to do every waking moment, who never has time to daydream, explore with different materials and activities, or try various things out, will be much less likely to discern his or her creative calling.

We need to teach children that God made them, that God loves them, and that God has given them gifts to be used to serve God and others. We play a role in helping them discover those gifts. We also must leave our own agenda behind. It is easy to dream of all the things you’d like your children to do and be. Those dreams are not necessarily bad, but when we try to have our children live out our own unfulfilled dreams, we can run into problems. God created our children. The only dream for their lives that matters is His. We need to encourage our children to pray and work toward discerning God’s calling for their lives. His dreams for them are greater than ours ever could be.

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for the gift of the children under my care. Please help me to cultivate their gifts and help them be all that you created them to be.

Action

Do you have children or grandchildren of your own or work with children? How can you help them have more time, space, and love to explore their gifts? 

This is an excerpt from The Work of Our Hands. (Amazon affiliate link)

I hope that you have enjoyed this month-long series on embracing your creative gifts. Please consider purchasing a copy of  The Work of Our Hands for yourself or a friend who might benefit from it.