Work What You're Workin' With

This week, a team from South Africa’s YWAM School of Performing Arts (SOPA) is visiting Ten Thousand Home for their outreach. They’ve spent 3 months learning, celebrating and practicing communicating the gospel through the arts. They’ve visited all three communities we’re working in here for feeding programs and church, and given an incredible gift of art, music, dance, drama and ministry with no words necessary.

We also have a couple here from Australia, John and Jenny, that have lived in Africa for 8 years, traveling around teaching and training in Family Ministry schools. I sat down with them, gushing, and basked in words I hadn’t heard or used in a long time: family systems, genograms, family structure, and so on and so on. I drank in their stories and adventures and spent time reflecting on the creativity and excitement I felt when working in that capacity.

After enjoying the creative gifts the SOPA team had to offer and sharing my hope and perspective on family ministry with John and Jenny, part of me felt sad, like I was experiencing a deep loss. I went to bad last night missing the creativity and thrill I felt walking through life with people in the counseling setting. It sounds dorky, I know. But, hey, I’ve embraced that part of me! I mean, come on, how can you say counseling with inflatable instruments, handmade trophies, wooden puppets, superhero capes and Aerosmith isn’t exciting?

This morning I woke up inspired to read more of the book, Creative Prayer by Chris Tiegreen that I bought at the bookstore here, specifically because it was on the clearance shelf for 15 Rand (less than $2US). Chapter 4 and my own time of prayer helped me gain some perspective.

”Biblical prayers begin with impressions, but they usually end with expressions, and at some point the inside and the outside are supposed to match. Visible, expressive prayer often integrates our body and soul and brings them together. If our prayers don’t involve our senses, they don’t involve the whole person. Since God never desires less than everything, give him your heart. Make it real. Or else forget about it.” – Creative Prayer

The first three months on staff (I’m about 1 ½ months into it), Ten Thousand Homes asks new staff to not commit to any specific “jobs” in the ministry, but to participate and learn the ins-and-outs. I have tremendous respect for that set-up, but have found it trying at times to know how to be “me” or unleash creativity when I’m in that go-with-the-flow learning process.

Then I realized this morning that I’ve been looking at it all the wrong way. (Perspective Check #2,059 in the life of Kacy Chaffin) I’ve been waiting on people or places to engage me, awaken all 5 of my senses or breathe life and excitement in to me, while not overstepping boundaries, etc, etc. But really, I have perfect opportunity for creativity and to be passionately interacting, where God has called me to be, right here and right now.

Just like you do where you are, right there and right now.

So, I’m committing this week to communicate creatively with God every day. This morning I stretched while I prayed and thought about the limitless ways to express myself to My Maker – through nature, through cards, through extending a hand or a gift to others, through offering, through secret dance parties…. I’m getting excited just writing about it!

You see, it’s not about making life good or exciting. It’s about being alive in how you were created. The SOPA team is practicing a new dance right now. Brittany is helping Lynn work on her blog. I’m holding a sleeping baby and writing to my beloved and incredibly loving Home people. I’m going to try to connect to God while using the gifts He gave me and see more ways to be alive in Him in whatever I’m doing. And I’m inviting you to join me this week in finding a new and creative way of connecting.

Heck, let’s get crazy this week. Leave a comment on my blog about a way you expressed yourself creatively to God.

Love you.

Go wild.