The Joy of Recreation

re-cre·a·tion [ree-kree-ey-shuhn] –noun
1.the act of creating anew.
2.something created anew.
re-cre·ate[ree-kree-eyt] –verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.
to create anew.

Now,before you think that I'm going to go give you a detailed description of our last holiday (which has just ended, and now we are living once again in the blessed land of routine, which always feels good after alot of adventure), have a good look at the definitions above.

One thing I have always enjoyed is crafting. It took David about 10 years to appreciate that this is not just a hobby, but a need I have. I LONG to create things. It all started on those long summer vacations. My mom would set me down with her sewing box (it looked something much like my Dad's fishing tackle box), and let me have at her collection of threads, buttons and bits of fabric. I think one summer every woman I knew got the tackiest little handsewn "purses" decorated with all my favorite colored buttons from Mom's box.

I have tried all kinds of crafts, but my most favorite of all has been what I am calling the art of re-creation. Taking something and repurposing it, giving it new life and color and a new place.

My sister and I had a stint of making teddy bears out of old worn denim jeans (there wasn't a second hand shop in town that had a proper pair left for sale once we had gone through), then I was inspired by my mom's ability to place her garden plants in all sorts of odd containers - old shoes, teapots..you name it. Not too long after that I was collecting odd pieces of broken glass and doing glass mosaics. Then I was smitten with the scrapbooking bug. You wouldn't believe all the odd cast offs that make good scrapbooking componants! Collecting those bits and pieces as well as finding new uses for old children's books, writing tablets and tins became a bit of a hobby on its own.

It's such a great feeling to take something that is more or less useless and breathe new life into it.

2 Corinthians 5:17, it says “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.”

I guess I could say that I am a project of recreation! My life before I became a Christian was not too cheery. I was a very insecure lost girl, looking for acceptance from anyone who would give it to me. Then, I was introduced to Christ. I learned that He accepted me just as I was, broken and tattered. He offered me a free gift, forgiveness for my sins and eternity in heaven. But not only this... He re-created me, gave me new purpose.

I'm not saying that I was magically transformed into the perfect person (just ask my family!). But He gave me hope and strength and a desire to live differently. All that once held me down, no longer had the same power over me.


“Hard sayings of the Bible” states: “The new” which has come is our relationship with God in Christ, a relationship which empowers us for a kind of living in which the continuing reality of sin can be overcome again and again. To be a “new creation” is not to be perfect or faultless, or immune from anger and pain, or insulated from the tough experiences of life. Rather, to be a “new creation” is to live life turned toward the God whose grace has reclaimed us in Christ.”

So, if I analyze my crafts, I could say that I subconsciously am working out what God has done for me - He took me, a bit of a cast off, and is changing me into something with new purpose and beauty.

You are not forgotten, you are not without use. God loves you and will give you the same beautiful makeover that He offers to all those who turn to Him and trust Him.