Imagination

Imagination has to be one of our greatest gifts.  The genius of Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs certainly got its start with their ability to imagine something that had never been seen before. 

What would life be like without the trusty vacuum cleaner?  There have been many imitators on the market, but give me my faithful Hoovers anytime.  And they can be repaired too, which prolongs their service even longer. 

The microwave oven has changed a lot in the kitchen.  When I bake and need a pound of softened butter, the microwave does a masterful job of it.  When there is just a little dab of food left from dinner, it would have been thrown away pre-microwave.  Now that little dab of food becomes part of lunch.  Less waste, more taste. 

Life was very different without television.  Sitting around a radio sounds very cozy and family-friendly, and it might also spur on the imagination, but seeing is great!!  The American most associated with the development of TV is Philo Farnsworth, however, a Scot and a Russian and others contributed to this breakthrough technology including the welcome addition of color. 

The moving picture camera helped Americans get through World War II by giving them some relief from rations and worry by being able to escape at the movie theater.  Newsreels at the movie theaters preceded the featured movie, and these newsreels showed what was going on at the war front as well as the victory parades and the celebrations when the war ended in 1945. 

For some of us, imagination guides us in picking colors for our walls and visualizing an old house coming back to life.  For some, imagination is the trigger for creating beautiful works of art using paint, fiber, pastels, watercolors, and other media.  For some, imagination starts them on a pathway to produce beautiful music.

For some of us, imagination allows us to read the Bible and picture what people were going through at different points in the Word of God.  When we can imagine how something might feel, we can experience empathy, a strong emotion that ties us to other people in an unexplainable way.  It is empathy that often makes us want to share our plenty with others who have far less.

Among the many gifts that we have been given by God, we must certainly be thankful for imagination. 

Have a great Tuesday!!