What do you think about when you hear the word “creative”? Artists, writers, dancers? I used to think the same until I started reading about creativity and spent an evening talking with Robin Snoek. I was looking at creativity-the process, without including God-the creator. If you think about God as the creator and that God dwells inside each of us, it is logical to conclude that we are all creative, each of us in our own way. Robin can draw, and she can paint, but her creativity runs much deeper than those things. She has found a way to use her creativity to help children in need and along the way has discovered her life’s purpose.
Have you ever contemplated events in your life and realized that God has been working to lead you, that you are precisely where you need to be, and that you have been preparing for this moment your entire life? What a fantastic thing to realize! Robin can trace that journey and knows God has put her right where He needs her to be. I asked if her job with CPS ever made her doubt the goodness of people, and if it ever discouraged her. What she told me was inspiring. She believes all people are good, and that it’s the circumstances that are out of control and need to be changed.This is where her understanding of creativity comes to life. Robin relates our innate creativity with potential and therefore her sense of social justice demands that she stand up for those that are currently oppressed and marginalized.
We have been learning about the fruit of the Spirit, and when I think of those nine words, I think of Robin. I listened to the story of how she and Charlie came to Beaumont and how obstacles seemed to leap out of the way as God cleared them one after another to get them here. I heard the joy in her voice as she talked about helping people make changes. I see the peace she has in her life because she knows she is doing what God created her to do.
Pastor Jon taught us about fig trees and fruit, how they must be grown, cultivated, and nourished. Robin reminds me of a gardener, tending and working, guided by the Holy Spirit, so that others may bear fruit and realize their own potential. Nine simple words to strive for and if you take the first one, “love,” doesn’t that lead to all the others? Spring is here, be happy and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit.
Story and photo by Michelle Holland