Nostalgic for God
I recently came across a guy named Sam Mahlstadt’s blog, then his book, Creative Theology ($10 for the eBook). The book is wonderful, and it was a huge breath of life-giving air for me to read someone that is passionate about the gift of creativity, and our role in creation.
A response to beauty is a response to the Artist.
A response to creation is a response to the Creator.The big idea is that when we encounter intense beauty, even though we know and understand that we cannot adequately describe what we feel, we have to proclaim what we see and feel because it is the only way to respond. – Sam Mahlstadt
Following the breadcrumbs, I then came across this video of storyteller, Ian Cron talking about beauty. In it, he quotes John Paul II –
Great art makes us nostalgic for God.
Yes. And I would say that beauty makes me nostalgic for God. This is how I discover God. I see Him in his Word – but I also see Him in people, when I hear a beautiful choir, or when I’m exploring the world around me. And even when viewing the tiniest bits of earth that seem to be teeming with life (because they are).
But I love what he says when asked, “What is breaking your heart?”
Sometimes beauty breaks my heart. I’ve had moments in the presence of beautiful music or beautiful dance or beautiful poetry where, like an egg, I’m just cracked and poured out. I’m just brought to silence and can weep because it makes me nostalgic for God. That universal desire for redemption. And when you touch that place in the human heart – that’s heartbreaking. In the best sense of the word. So not all heartbreak is bad. Some of it is just exquisite – exquisitely, beautiful pain. -Ian Cron
Please, watch the video. It’s worth the 5 minutes.
Do you feel the same way?
Yes, yes, yes. This, another recent post, and your circles talk are really resonating with me. This -creativity and faith- is a topic that’s been on my heart for a while now and lately I’ve really been feeling the need to work through it. I edit these left-brain scientific research articles for a living, but shape and pattern and design and *making* have such a deep pull for me; I feel as though I need to validate them somehow, but maybe it’s more a language to speak than a task to perform… thinking.
This is so beautiful! Bookmarking so I can come back and read it again after I’ve processed it a bit. Thanks for this one.
First of all, thank you so much for the kind words.
Ian’s words resonate in the most beautiful way . I can’t get over that Pope John Paul quote. Incredible.
So blessed to have somehow stumbled upon your blog. Been following for awhile now, and resonate so much…it is a gift. Thank you for this, posting that inspiring video, photos, and for your circles talk. I will check out the e-book as well.
So glad this resonated with you all. And thank you Sam for sharing it!
This articulates exactly what I have always felt but could not express. I think I first read about this concept in the book “Captivating” where the author(s) talk about how God seduces us, woos us, with the beauty of His creation. Another time (this time I can’t remember the source) it was talking about all that is sublime, beautiful, that just stops us in our tracks–those are glimpses/moments when we interact with Him. Your quotes, the video and this article just perfectly spell out all that and my own feelings. Thank you so much for spilling parts of your mind and soul that we might find common ground with you, and ultimately, Him.