One of the blessings of having children around is their bent toward creativity. Our 3 Florida grands are spending a couple of weeks with us, and evidence of their prolific ideas is everywhere.

For example, when Skylar noticed condensation on the front storm door, she quickly turned it into artwork. When space on the glass ran out, she raced to the basement for paper and markers to draw the fresh ideas she’d gleaned while drawing on the door. Before long she had her own art show, along with a toy cash register for making change during sales.

Another example: Micah loved our trip to the playground, romping on the monkey bars and slides till he got the lovely idea to make a snow angel in the sand. I watched as he stood to admire his work, deciding he could make a better one. He stomped all over the sand to “erase” what he’d made, and dropped down to repeat the process. Though there was sand in the bathtub that night, his joy in creating was lovely.

A third example: Twenty-month old Autumn watched Emerald open gift after gift at her birthday party, but none of them were for her. When a big, colorful riding toy appeared, she decided to get creative, ignoring the actual present and finding satisfaction in riding the box it came in. How can we not applaud such imaginative thinking?

When God created the earth and those who live on it, he demonstrated the ultimate in imaginative thinking. And he did it all without supplies. Though we humans have figured out how to create/clone sheep, mice, and other creatures, it can only be done by using a living, breathing mother of the same species who can carry the embryo to term.

Life always and only comes from life, with one exception: when the scientist is God.

“Imaginative thinking,” the quality I love in my grandchildren, isn’t really the right label for God. The only appropriate one is Creator. Ex nihilo. Everything out of nothing.

I like to picture God forming the first human being from clay much like my grandchildren and I shape Play Doh. Did he lovingly craft Adam’s heart in his hands (and every other organ), enjoying the process of assembling him? And once this young man’s body was complete, did he lean over, mouth-to-mouth as we do in resuscitation efforts, and breathe life into him?

It’s a thrilling picture far superior to “imaginative thinking.” When I watch my grandchildren getting creative, though, I like to think it’s God’s way of “tagging” them with a bit of himself. After all, some of their best ideas just seem to come…. ex nihilo! And only God could be behind those.

“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7)