By Kelly Carr

I knew I had to go that day or it would be too late—it was peak bloom season for tulips at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

It’s my favorite time of year, but tulip season is quick. Wait too long and they wilt. Perhaps their brief brilliance gives me more appreciation for them. The Cincinnati Zoo has such a wonderful display, I go each spring. I keep an eye on the zoo’s social media accounts to know when the tulips have popped.

I specifically seek out the Negrita tulip with its deep purple color. This year I discovered the Burning Heart tulip, where white petals are streaked with bold red—the tendrils of color so tender, they look as if they’re painted on with a fine brush. (See the photo I took, above.)

That’s how I envision God—painting, arranging these delicate flowers with a loving artist’s touch. From the many splendored colors of the plants to the funny antics of the animals—the zoo holds many examples of God’s imagination. Not to mention the uniqueness of every person I pass. As I’ve marveled before, God has been creating new, individual people for thousands of years—yet no two are exactly alike!

With an infinitely creative God who makes us in his image, is it any wonder that we feel the need to create? Some feel they must create to be complete; they can’t hold it in; the ideas and artistry burst out.

Others with left-brained preferences might not consider themselves creative. Yet I have been to CERN in Geneva, where the world’s preeminent theoretical physicists research, and let me tell you there is creativity in formulating equations about space, time, and matter.

As created beings and beings who create, we represent the Creator and honor him when we make things. Whether you make beautiful sculptures of stone or beautiful spreadsheets of tabulations, creating brings joy to us and testifies to the one who shaped our souls.