Creativity, Marriage, and How to Keep the Flame Alive. Pt. 1.

Being a bit late in my blog-a-week-a-thon, or when writing a song, or in any kind of creative act, sometimes I feel like I need the inspiration or initial idea. Now this goes against everything I've ever been taught about creative writing and life in general. Apologies to my mentors, all around.

Don't we all fall into this same apathetic rut though? "I'll get to that later," but you never do. "I'm not feeling very creative today," or any other day for that matter... It's the same thing when we criticize an idea without bringing anything helpful to the table. Apathetic, critical idealism isn't a breeding ground for creativity; nor is it a place to foster love. 

One of my (many) sisters asked me to write about my thoughts on marriage. Not the general "what do you think about marriage," because obviously I'm all for it, as is she, being married and all. Marriage in the sense of "how you aren't just a bride [or groom] for one day and how you are [the] bride of Christ every day." Now I see the blogs that make their rounds on social media outlets, "Why marriage isn't for you," "I'm dating someone AND I'm married," if only by giving secondhand glances, so this seems to be a topic on people's minds. 

My wonderful wife is a woman of simple taste, so our wedding, while being beautiful and a day to remember, was inexpensive and easy. Okay, it may have been a little more planning on her part, but I know she would agree with me. This isn't to downplay the ceremony of marriage, because it's a wonderful day for the bride and groom, and hopefully their family, but it's just that--a day. Jenn and I planned for that day, but more importantly, we were ready for the many days following the "I dos." We spent the months and weeks beforehand preparing for the inevitable conflicts, discussing our pet peeves and deficiencies, kids, family, insecurities, sex, and where we see God in all of it. And let me tell you, I am so glad we did that, because it saved us many a heartache. If you're considering getting married, be sure you go through some kind of marriage counseling, or at the very least go through those questions together and put the work into your marriage.

Which brings me back to creativity. Some days you don't feel like it, and sometimes we can be critical, but I go back to my previous statement: apathetic, critical idealism isn't a breeding ground for creativity; nor is it a place to foster love. We all could use a little creative love in our lives. It takes work and many pages of junk (just like in writing), but the end result is that much better for it.


See a Biblical perspective at part 2.