This Covid-19 pandemic has been a lot to deal with. In addition to being quarantined to our homes for 37+ days, some have lost their jobs and others are trying to manage working from home; all of us have been bombarded with bad news; and all of us are grieving life as we once knew it.

I found myself feeling extremely overwhelmed by everything—the news of the death of a loved one; fear of losing a sister; news of death of people I knew personally; life in a house with 7 other people; managing my workload; and confronting and dealing with my emotions. My heart was broken and my brain was exploding. Talking about it all made me cry, and crying made the pain worse. Binge watching movies and tv series had a temporary numbing effect but the waves would come crashing in as soon as I pressed “stop” or chose not to press “play” for the fifth time.

Then…something changed. I purchased a desk (because sitting on my bed and/or floor just is no longer sustainable) and decided to customize it. Upon finishing that DIY project, it felt as if I could breathe clearly again. I wondered why building had had such a significant impact on me. God then revealed to me that watching shows was not truly helping me to destress/unwind because I am a creative being created by a Creative God and therefore, I MUST produce.

That is what God has told all of us—to go out and reproduce (to produce what is within us). Genesis 1:28 MSG reads, “God created human beings; He created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: ‘Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! . . .’

God has blessed you to reproduce, to generate a physical copy of what is inside of you. You are more than your DNA, and to reproduce means more than to make copies of your genetic code by having children. Your Creator has placed ideas, dreams, and visions within you. Now will you focus and bring those things forth?

God shaped you first inside, then out; He formed you in your mother’s womb. You are marvelously made. God knows you inside and out, He knows every bone in your body; God knows exactly how you were made, bit by bit. Like an open book, God watched you grow, all the stages of your life were spread out before Him (Psalm 139:13-16 MSG).

From the very beginning God placed in you exactly what you would need every step of the way. He has seen all of your life’s experiences and will not allow any of it to be in vain. You were created to create. You are a creative being even when life’s circumstances try to stall your production. You were created to create. We are all creative. Some of us are creative with how we string our words together; some are creative with how they depict images; some are creative with how they prepare meals; some are creative with how they arrange clothing; some are creative in their application of makeup; some are creative in their arrangement of musical notes and beats; some are creative in their arrangement of body movements; some are creative with how they cut, style, and/or color hair; some are creative with the way they build and/or design; some are creative with the way they see, calculate, and organize numbers; some are creative in the way they come up with solutions to problems; and the list goes on.

My question to you—created creatives—is have you allowed this global pandemic to stall your production?

I would like to challenge you to do three things: (1) pray and ask God what it is you should be creating during this time; (2) strategize; and (3) produce for at least one hour per day. PRAY. STRATEGIZE. PRODUCE.

Pray Take a minimum of one day to pray and ask God to reveal His plan for your life and your God-given gifts and talents. Pray and ask God what He would like you to produce during this season.

Strategize Take a minimum of one day to plan the 5 Ws + H. Who is your audience? Where will you produce? Where will you publish/display your production? Why are you producing this? What is the purpose? What tools do you need? and last but not least, How will this production bring Glory to God?

Produce get to work! Created creatives, you have access to everything you need! It’s time you get back to producing!

Song: Everything We Need by Kanye West