What can I do with THAT?

The Wall Street Journal reported this week significant layoffs at the film company Dreamworks because its feature division has "fallen short on the creative side."  And as a result, fewer movies will be made.

When I read that news, I thought of my grandmother.  She would have laughed at even the thought of a decline in creativity.  

Being creative was a daily reality for her.  She inherited her parents' legacy of faith and a strong resolution in the face of dire need.  She did not recognize what she did not have, she did not waste any time even thinking about it.  Her mind and her heart shifted immediately from the need at hand to "what can I do with that?

She lived out the feeding of the 4000.

And the disciples said to Him,
"Where are we to get bread enough
                in the desert
to feed so great a crowd?"
And Jesus said to them,
"How many loaves have you?"

                     Matthew 15. 33-34

Bread enough?  My widowed grandmother would have just added another "s" to the desert and thought of a way to make a dessert as well.

She did not have much materially to give, but she knew how.  She had a little secret and a lot of hardcore experience.  God does not add.  He multiplies.  He does not just make it enough, but even provides leftovers for another meal.

And He uses His people to do it.
God uses His people to bless others.

The modern dictionary defines the word "create" as to cause to exist or bring into being, such as "She pieced together a quilt."

But my father's old dictionary from the 1920's paints a bigger picture:  "that which is made, produced, brought into existence, specifically the universe."

And the Bible?  God calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4.17)

Limitations did not restrict my grandmother in any way.  Indeed, that which appeared impossible created only a jumping off place.  "What can I do with that?"   As I grew up, I watched that first hand.  An old dress was hand-tailored into another outfit or made into a quilt.  A near-empty cupboard somehow served not only our family but unexpected guests who appeared suddenly on our doorstep.  She had a box of loose unwanted items that always found a new use.

Creativity to her was a type of generosity.  It was a mindset and a heart condition.  She gave hilariously.  Indeed, she was energized by it.

Let's see what God does with that!

Being faithful is not just laying it before Him,
   but following Him into His purposes.

And watching Him multiply.

Now to Him who by
the power at work within us
                    is able
to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask
                   or imagine,
to Him be glory...

              Ephesians 3.20-21