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Working with the resources you have
Originally appeared on spirituality.com.
Many years ago, I was living in a small apartment on a limited salary, working part time and taking college courses. I’d been invited out to dinner by a guy I really liked, but I had no adequate dress to wear and no money to buy one. Then I remembered Gone with the Wind, and Scarlett O’Hara’s creative response to her wardrobe dilemma—to find some material and make a great dress out of it.
So I did what I could. Without a sewing machine, I had the idea to craft a dress out of material by cutting a pattern and stitching the whole thing by hand. I got to work, one stitch after another, creating the seams and hem, adjusting the fit as I went. I wasn’t sure if my date would like how the dress turned out. He really did, and in fact commented on it several times. My date that night later became my husband. And over the years, we’ve loved to tell that story to our children. To me, it illustrates how inspired ideas meet our needs in beautiful ways, even when resources seem low, and finances tight.
I believe that creativity has a spiritual, God-derived source. And I’m learning that I can choose how to look at an experience or situation. I can express spiritual lightheartedness and find some new joy, even in circumstances that would otherwise be fertile ground for complaint and frustration. Embracing gratitude for simple things and realizing how much abundance we do have is a far better choice than ruminating over what’s missing. Each grateful thought is like a stitch in a dress—it’s important to the whole fabric of our well-being.
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