Who I Am Part II

I Create

It is human to create. When God made us in his image, the very first thing he put in our nature was the ability and desire to innovate the world around us. Throughout my life, I have searched constantly for new ways to be creative. At times, that led me off my true path. I often wonder where I would be if I had not questioned my original decision to be a musician full time.

After a couple of years of college, I allowed people around me to convince me that music didn't offer a stable future. Having a real knack for technology, I studied electronics and computer programming. Later, I found that I was a better teacher, designer, and user than a programmer or technician. In 1987, I designed some of the first curriculum available for graphic artists based on real world situations. That was the birth of my instructional design phase.

Of course, I had to get through my graphic design phase. Notice that I didn't say graphic artist. I used other people's art, but had a great eye for composition. Graphic design didn't go away for a very long time, not until about three years ago. I used it in every job and volunteer position I held for the next 20 years.

Now, I am creative in the way that I was intended to be. My days and nights are filled with music and people who love it as much as I do, if that is possible. As a music minister, I have the joy of working with a small choir that produces sounds you would never expect from a choir their size. It is nothing for them to do four or six part harmonies with only 20 voices. They are amazing and wonderful.

I spend much more time playing, singing, and directing now that I returned to my true calling. Praise God that I finally listened and started teaching music again. I know why I left it. I know why I had to see what else was out there for me. I am so thankful that I never stopped completely. I was always singing or playing somewhere, directing or leading, or just singing for myself. There are struggles along the way to the triumphs, but this life is the one he intended me to live all along. I am so glad I didn't miss it altogether.