The Events’ Theme: Created to Create 

Exodus 30 30-35

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³¹ and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— ³² to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ³³ to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. ³⁴ And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.

Although I’ve always enjoyed art, I never had any formal training until college. This is where I fell in love with painting. I found it to be very calming and fun. I continued periodically over the years but I didn’t take it seriously. It was just something I did in my spare time to relax.

After I had my son, I had trouble finding my way back to some normalcy (mentally) and get back on track to pursue my passions.  (If you haven’t read my last post about overcoming trauma, you can read about it here.)   I hadn’t painted in a long while and wanted to bring it back to the forefront of my life and thought I’d take some classes to revive my passion. I went to a few paint events held at local restaurants and I loved it. I had a brief thought, “I could do this one day,” but never acted on it.

The first few times, I went by myself until a group of us were able to go…and everyone enjoyed it.

A few months passed and one of my close friends, Charel, wanted to throw a paint party for her sister. She asked me to be the instructor! Of course I couldn’t say “No.” We had a lot of fun…  I wanted to do this again.

Fast forward to a year later, here I am. I had been thinking of how I could do it for a few months before I worked up enough nerve to act on it.  I decided that I would start with people I know. Spirit and Truth WOC  has been a part of my life since my family moved to Houston in 2002 and has supported us in many ways.  I thought it would be great to share my gifts there. Some people are called to serve in different areas, creativity is how I can give to others.

I pitched the idea to Palstor Alma, then she brought it to the women’s ministry. Everyone agreed and the planning begun.

…

Quietly, I had been taking notes on a friend who was pursuing her dream of being an actress. For 10 years, she performed in local plays and musicals (between LA and Sacramento), and even created a few productions herself which led to opportunities for others too. She shared all of her work with us. It is so exciting to now see her as the star of a TV show on BET – “Rebel.” A little known actress got the chance because she was prepared. The part was created just for Danielle. Everything she experienced over the 10 years, had prepared her for this moment.

I can recall seeing a few posts from her stating how hard it is and even thought she’d chosen the wrong path at times. But she kept going. Kept creating. Kept acting.

This gives me hope that my dream can happen too. But I have to do the work. Faith without works is dead. Dreams without action is just an illusion.

I learned from her that until God opens that big door for you, He is still working in the small stuff. It’s about believing in yourself and being committed to the process.

Overnight successes happen to those who are prepared. So, until it’s my time, I will put in the work. I will believe in myself and follow through with my ideas. I will share so someone else can be inspired to begin their own dream journey.

Just like how bad I wanted to get out of the hospital, I had to do the work. God plants gifts and talents in all of us.  But if we don’t use them, it will be wasted.

…

I am happy to say that the event was well received and that we had a great time. I was so nervous in the beginning and stumbled on my words a bit, but eventually the jitters were gone and we began creating our works of art.

The original artwork is by Mou Lou.  I found it online and simplified it for the purpose of this class.  It was nice to see how people who struggled in the beginning left with a feeling of satisfaction of their work. They we’re proud! I was proud.

I look forward to doing it again in the near future.

Thank you, Charel for seeing my gifts and planting that seed. Thank you to the women of Spirit and Truth Work Outreach Church for having fun with me and doing something many of you had not done before. Thank for believing in me and excited to be a part of my journey.

Thank you to Sis. Michelle Murray and Sis. Deborah Fury for spearheading the Sisters Ablaze special event and everyone else who played a part in the set up and food preparation. This wouldn’t have been possible without you. Thank you to my Mom for helping me gather supplies and assisting throughout the night. Thank you Pastor Alma for believing in me and allowing me to share my gifts.

Keep dreaming! Keep working! Create your own opportunities!

Peace and Love!

Yasmin

P.S. Follow my friend, Danielle, on IG @daniellemonetruitt and watch her show, “Rebel”.

*Photos were gathered from Facebook posts. Thank you for tagging me!