Article December 5, 2011 Issue

Creativity – like the icing on a cake

By Amy Ward-Bailey

I sat down on my stool in front of the wedding cake, bag of frosting in my hand. As I brought the tip of the bag toward the cake I thought, “How can I do this?”

After a long period of not decorating, suddenly I was being asked to decorate a large wedding cake while my boss was out of the office. I wanted to show her I could do a good job, and I also felt tremendous pressure to do well, considering someone’s very expensive wedding cake hung in the balance! Nervous and a little shaky, I began to pipe the frosting.

It didn’t start off well. Nothing seemed to be working right for me. After a few mistakes in a row, I just stopped and took a moment to think. I knew from my study of Christian Science that every situation could be helped by a better understanding of God and of myself as God’s reflection. Quietly, I asked God for help. Almost immediately, a phrase from a popular anonymous poem came to mind, “If I will be relaxed and free, God will carry out his plan through me.” 