“The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.”
– Charles Dickens

How true, Mr. Dickens! I would add that the difference between construction and creation is that construction is conceptualized, executed, and completed. Creation is filled with potential and continues to grow and change and evolve. It embodies fulfillment rather than completion and goes on and on without ever reaching an end. I can build a house and look at its beauty after the project is done and love it for its shelter and warmth and its perfect fit to meet my needs; but when I plant a tree, I do it in faith, not knowing how tall it will grow or what birds might nest in its branches — I can only water it and have faith that it will remain in my heart just as it did on the day I first planted its seed in the ground.

Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens! February 7, 1812