Jackhammers and Elegance

Tuesday 4/28/2015 4:29 AM

My devotional theme this week is creativity. My psalm for the week is Psalm 8, one that depicts the creative work of God in the world. Part of my reading today includes an excerpt from Creativity and Divine Surprise, by Karla M. Kincannon, an artist and writer. She differentiates her work into two categories, that which is inspired by eavesdropping on a conversation between her soul and God and that which is inspired by what she calls her ego self. She writes, “Making ego-centered art feels labor-intensive with no sense of flow about the work. He illuminating moment is absent, the art making becomes like jackhammering through concrete with a nail file. I think I am allowed to have times like these in order to remember from whom the deeper creativity comes.”

Mathematics is much the same. Some proofs of theorems or solutions of equations in mathematics are simply attained by brute force. There is nothing pretty about it. The theorem or equation finally submits after a repeated pounding by a determined solver. The path toward the solution is predictable and uninteresting, albeit, effective. Other solutions or proofs are attained by an unexpected insight by the solver that results in a solution that is obvious and easy to explain to others. When someone who has struggled for hours to come up with a solution is shown the simplicity of the solution they have a tendency to hit their forehead with the palm of their hand and say, “I could have done that.” In mathematics such a proof is called elegant. It is difficult to define such a term but it is easy to know when you experience it.

My insight into God’s will seems to follow a similar path. Sometimes it comes easily and I know exactly the path I am to follow and the speed at which I should travel. At other times it seems as if I am groping in the dark, reaching for anything that will give me a clue. Months pass, even years, without getting any clear direction or indication of what God desires from me or for me. As Kincannon says, the illuminating moment is absent. She is probably right with her comment about being allowed to have times like that in order to remember from whom the insight comes.

I pray that I will be sensitive to the guiding of the Holy Spirit in my life to experience the joy of discovering an “elegant” insight but that I will also have the tenacity and perseverance to jackhammer through the walls that hold me back with a nail file when necessary.