And God saw every thing He had made and, behold, it was very good.

I was working on this new cloudscape and found myself standing back, saying “this is good.” Many times. It’s just an initial block in, and yet the colors feel harmonious. The light is evident. The mood is right. It’s what I was after. This is after 4 years of making 100s of bad paintings, not quite understanding what I wanted or how to get there. A desire trapped in my being. Agonizing.

While in that energetic space, I thought of the creation story. How God separated light from darkness, gathered the sea and divided it from the land. Created grass and trees and every living creature. And called it good. Over and over. Then, at the end, very good.

Raised Christian, I always focused on being inherently good. Created in His image, so I must be good. Every time I felt not good enough, unworthy, I’d remind myself I was made in God’s image, and so those thoughts couldn’t be true.

But I’d never looked at it from the maker’s side. The creator Himself.

And there I was, looking at my painting. The thing I made from a blank sheet of paper. I had separated light and dark, divided ocean from sand, added trees and a bird. And I was calling it good. I was moved to tears. I’d finally touched what I’d been wanting to create. I was delighting in my own creation. It felt nothing like arrogance, or like I’d earned it after all that time and effort. It just felt good.

And in that moment, I understood the mind of God a tiny bit more. What it must have been like to create this world. To have desires and to realize them. That satisfaction. Expansive. Pure. Unconditional.

What a privilege to be out in God’s creation and be able to capture it. What a honor to be able to paint what I experienced. I’m a maker in God’s image alongside my maker. United in that moment, marveling at the pure joy of making something and being able to call it good.

And when I finish this piece, I hope to set down my brush and say it’s very good.