The Greatest Creator (of Them All)
Music has always been a
source of comfort and inspiration to me. Over the years, certain artists have
served as a constant in my musical life, and I find myself seeking out their
music when I need calm or cheer. One of those artists is Doyle Lawson, a highly
accomplished bluegrass and bluegrass gospel musician. Doyle’s music, to me, is as
close to perfect as music can get, and I appreciate his dedication to his
craft. Over the span of forty plus years, Doyle traveled the world with his
band Quicksilver, creating and playing music that ministered to and positively
influenced millions of people. Though he is retired now, his music keeps
working.
While always important, it
seemed that in the later years of his career, Doyle added more gospel music to
his repertoire. During my tyme as a radio DJ for a gospel music station in
Broadway, Virginia, I happened upon one of those songs. It was an upbeat tune
called "The Greatest Creator (of them all)”. Since my show was geared to
glorifying God, I played the song when I could because it highlighted God’s
creativity, and I found that listeners responded well to it.
On several occasions, when I
was blessed to see him in concert, Doyle included the song in the set list, and
his band had a good tyme performing it. In fact, their joy and silly antics
made the song even more memorable and enjoyable to me. Still, having much
experience with the song, I never really took it to heart until one day when I
was working on my resume.
Compiling my resume is not
an enjoyable task for me. I tend to get
down on myself and start questioning practically every choice I’ve ever made in
my life. After a while of trying to highlight my abilities, I start wondering
if I even have any abilities to highlight. Suffice it to write, my confidence
does not often fare well in the resume building process. This day was no
different and I desperately required a break from having to think about myself.
I decided to take care of some dishes, so I headed to the kitchen – and yes, that’s
correct, I would rather do dishes than work on my resume!
As I worked on my new task,
I looked out the kitchen window, and saw a little sparrow perched on a
decorative ladder near a clematis. What a beautiful picture! I quickly dried my
hands and went to get my camera, but there was no way to get a clean capture of
the sight. The window had a screen, and did not lend well to good pictures. The
only other option was to go outside, but I knew opening the door would scare
the bird away. Birds are so flighty!
What’s a photographer to do?
I went to the door anyway and looked through its small, diamond-shaped window.
Surely there had to be a decent angle somewhere, but alas. With the door
closed, the only possible line of sight to the sparrow was blocked by the
lattice work on the porch. Even so, I was not about to let screens, closed
doors, or lattice work stand in my way. I wanted a picture of the bird, and I intended
to get one!
After a few attempts and
some interesting maneuvering, I realized that, with concentrated effort and a
steady hand, I was able to zoom through the lattice work to see the bird – the
bird that surprisingly sat still and waited while I worked. Then, it happened.
Click. A single click and I captured a moment in tyme, a beautiful moment and gift
from God. When I looked down at the display on my camera, that Doyle Lawson
song flooded my mind. “He’s the Greatest Creator of Them All”. It wasn’t the
picture, however, that brought the song to mind; it was the ability God gave me
when He created me.
While the picture was nice,
I realized that the lens of my human-made camera could not begin to compare to
my God-made eye. Even at a distance, I was able to see my point of focus in far
more detail than my camera could capture. God created me with the ability to
see, process and appreciate the beauty of the world around me. While my camera
saw everything in the frame, I was able to single out one detail among billions.
That which my camera had to zoom in and focus on, I saw in an instant, no tools
or technology needed.
After getting the pictures I
wanted, I went back to work on my resume, but this tyme I had a different and
far more positive perspective on the task. I realized that God put the sparrow
in my day to remind me of the gifts and talents He gave me. As a result, I soon
finished my resume with confidence and a smile.
The fact is, it's easy to get bogged down with the opinions of the world around
us. Especially with social media in the mix, there are many opportunities to
compare ourselves to others and see what we don’t have and can’t do. The author
of lies, that pesky devil, wants to find us in that state of mind and keep us
there. Why? Because we are of little use to God when we are so focused on self.
However, when we remember that God creates everyone with gifts, talents and
abilities, including us, it takes the focus off what we can’t do and puts it on
what He can.
Perhaps, like me, you feel
like your resume is lacking. Or maybe it seems like other people have so many talents
and gifts when you have few to none, but it’s not true. God created you with
everything you need so you can accomplish what He has for you to do.
Psalm 139 is titled, “God’s
Perfect Knowledge of Man”, and in it, David sings to God about how completely
God understands him. He sings of God’s ability to know him because God formed him.
In verse 14, Davids sings:
“I will praise You,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”
David’s words are specific
for each of us. We can each sing out to God and credit Him for the gifts, talents
and abilities with which He has blessed us. My blessings may not look like
yours and your blessings may not look like mine, but we are each blessed in
God’s perfect way. He thought through every detail when He wove us together, including
our every strength and weakness. (The
apostle Paul writes about weaknesses in II Corinthians 12)
Have you ever truly thought
about the fact that God made YOU and put YOU here with YOU in mind? He doesn’t have
a fancy factory with lots of machines making parts for different models. No, each
Master’s piece is handmade! You will never see another YOU, because for God,
only YOU will do!
So, in this world of constant competition, we must be diligent
to see what God sees and drop the need to succeed by society’s standards. The heavy
burden of comparison can make us feel like we’re not good enough, but as a dear
friend of mine often reminds me, we cannot go by feelings; we must go by God’s
truth. God made each of us with a purpose, a purpose that is complete and
completely unique. When God looks at you and at me, He sees what He designed,
and He knows it is good … because …
He is The Greatest Creator of them All!
He made Noah to build an ark, and Columbus to
sail the sea.
He made Leo for art, Moses to part and lead across the Red Sea
Amelia for flight, Austen to write, and Dolly with singing to do
And then He made me, the poet LD, to rhyme of His reason for YOU!
His eye really is on the sparrow and I know He watches (and cares) for me and YOU!
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