What if God used creativity to bring about healing in your life? I know He did for me.
When my life settled down from the initial panic and grief of losing my husband, I started trying to pick up the pieces on my own. But how God started to pick up the pieces for me through creativity was far beyond what I expected.
In trying to pick up the pieces, I felt many intense moments of grief - ones that I couldn’t express in words. It seemed as if nothing could be done about it, and that I would feel this grief for the rest of my life. I was always trying to figure out what other people did in these moments, so I turned to a good friend of mine, who was also a widower. He told me that after his wife passed away, he spent a lot of time playing the piano - something he hadn’t had time for previously. He said it helped, and I asked him, “Helped with what? Being sad, processing emotions, forgetting, passing the time?” He said he couldn’t explain it. He just said that it was a meaningful part of accepting his new life.
I remember how much this conversation triggered my emotions because playing the piano had profound meaning to me. I still remember the day my late husband Christopher told me “his piano playing days were over,” less than a year after his diagnosis of ALS. I wasn’t ready to let that go that day. After that, I had the piano moved downstairs, out of sight because it bothered me so much. He played beautifully. He had studied to be a concert pianist and could play anything by ear. It was a huge part of our family life.
Months after Christopher had passed away, and months after that conversation with my friend, I was particularly angry about how unfair my life seemed and, on top of everything else I had to do or give up, I ALSO didn’t get piano music and special songs played in my home like I thought I would have. Music that I wanted my grandchildren to know. But it was ultimately during this time of great pain that I turned to God and asked Him what to do to feel better, heal, and find comfort amidst my grief. The Lord brought back to memory that conversation with my old friend, and I felt moved to sit down and start the long process of learning some of Christopher’s favorites that he had played.
It was through this experience that I learned just how God can use anything - even creativity - to bring about healing. My grief didn’t fully go away while doing this, but I did feel God’s immense love for me. I felt His support for me, despite the difficulties with raising my children, working, and navigating life on my own. I resonate with these words from Paul:
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 -
Playing the piano also became a way for me to remember the sweet memories with Chris in a meaningful way. It taught me that despite going through suffering, we are supported and strengthened to navigate it with the creative power of our God. We are all creative beings, like our Heavenly Father. He designed us to respond in creative ways to the challenges and the joys in life. So momma, let this be an encouragement for you today: no matter what suffering you’re carrying or pain you’re enduring, turn to God, the Creator of the Universe, and ask Him to help you to use your inherent creativity to find comfort, healing, and peace.
Find healing from loss.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Lisa Clark is an improvisational actor, writer of Real Moms Making It Up As We Go, widow, and mother to Miles, Owen, Phoebe, Hugh, and Margaret.
She is passionate about her kids, her faith, and connecting with others and caring for each other. As host of The Lisa Show, she talks about all things good. Lisa believes there's more than enough information and pressure out there for us all to live "our best lives," but there's a power in laughing together at the hits and misses we're all experiencing in the middle of it all. We are all in this together! Laugh with her at byuradio.org/the-lisa-show.
WHO WE ARE
The Life of a Single Mom is a national, faith-based, nonprofit that exists to see that no single mom walks alone. To date, the organization has worked with hundreds of churches to start a single mom’s support group in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as having served hundreds of thousands of single mothers with a variety of programs. Offering a large array of books, curriculum, training materials, online instructional videos, podcasts, newsletters, life skills education, and more, TLSM is one of the largest single mom organizations in the U.S. The robust selection of single mom programs focus on empowering single moms to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially, and parentally through Single Mom University, Single Moms Across America, the National TLSM Single Moms Conference, boot camps, and a variety of other programs. For more information, visit thelifeofasinglemom.com.
