Created and Loved by God

Earlier this week I took a trip to the grocery store with the kids to pick up a few items necessary for the rest of the week...milk, bread, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary. The idea of strolling through the store gazing at "items of want" with my three beautiful, well-behaved darlings always seems like well-thought out plan until its execution. Yet it is a daunting task buttoning coats, loading them in carseats, unloading them, positioning them just right in the grocery cart so there is no hair pulling, hitting, fighting, or stealing (yes, I have an unintentional clepto :) ). But...the call of the pantry is much stronger than the voice of reason.

We rushed through the store picking up our necessities and ended up in the frozen food section. I casually walked from case to case looking for what would be the next great meal in our home. As I approached one of the cases a man and a woman were coming toward us, she on the phone, he pushing the cart. She was ordinary...he was not. He appeared handicapped, hunched over, eyes separated, with an amazing smile that lit up the room. As we passed him, he looked at me and said, "Wow, you sure have your hands full!" (As a mother of a 4, 3 and 2 year old, I hear this often.) I smiled and said, "I sure do, but they're worth it." (My standard response.) Our conversation was a mere 10 seconds. Two steps passed him, my oldest whips her head around, looks at me and says,

"His eyes..."

"Stop." I whispered.

She hushed as I knelt down next to her seat. I asked her if she knew who made that man.

"Um...No?"

"Miss A, who made you?"

"God did."

"So, who do you think made him?" By this time I had tears in my eyes.

"God did." And as the tears began to well in her sweet, baby eyes she exclaimed, "and God loves him very much."

She gets it.

I hold such a special place in my heart for people with a physical defect because I too was born with one. I was born severely cross-eyed. My parents agreed to eye surgery at 6 months and I had to exercise my eyes every night as a child. I had to wear a patch on my "strong" eye to help strengthen the weak one. I was questioned by kids throughout elementary school about what I was looking at, what could I see, did things look different to me because of the way I look. I fought my physical ailment and tried to hide it from the world for years (including my optometrist). The thing is, EVERY one of us was born imperfect. At some point in our adolescence we were ridiculed for something that was out of our control. By the time we reach adulthood, most of us have learned to hide it...some better than others. Genesis 1 tells us everything God created was "good." We are created in His likeness.

(A Royal Allegiance)

Sin messes everything. God made all humans perfect and unique, all together bearing God's image.

But this cancerous disease called sin broke everything.

Maybe this is why my daughter "gets it". Even though she was born into a world full of sin, she is still innocent. She is not shackled by the image of who she "should be" or what she "should look like", in order to be accepted by the ever-judging eye of society. My challenge is to see the world through the eyes of a child, just as He sees us.

God made each of us unique...short, tall, skinny, robust, athletic, couch potato, cross-eyed, crooked smile...and loves every stinkin' one of us. We are not merely damaged goods...we are all a masterpiece in the making.

Thank you Lord. I praise you for making me exactly the way I am...warts and all.

Isaiah 64:8
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Transparent

Over the holidays we typically spend more time with family, focusing on the good of the past 365 days, reminiscing about Christmases of past. In 2008 I spent time with my new blogging friends and I was given the opportunity to share life with people all over the world who I probably would never have come in contact with this side of heaven. I read of growing families, daily life, difficult pregnancies, heart-wrenching losses, miracles of life. What an adventure!

Recently I have had trouble falling asleep and have used that time to think about my day - what I've done, seen and read. As I thought about each blog I subscribe to and those that have made a lasting impact on my life I questioned "why?". What is it about some of these friends stories that moves me from my foundation? One word: transparency. These saints hold nothing back. They allow me to take a full look into their lives (some on a daily basis). I am not a window shopper gazing at merchandise from outside. I am a full paying customer. I am given the chance to browse through their laughter and pain, joy and tears and pull from it whatever I choose. They place every emotion out on a page for all to see. But this kind of transparency comes at a cost...a very high cost. In order for them to be transparent to the world, they first have to be transparent to the One who created them. They have to allow Him to come in, set up shop and clean house. And by being completely vulnerable to Him, He is able to use them for His glory and touch millions of peoples lives with their tiny hands.

So for 2009 I will have the usual resolutions: eat less, spend more time with the kids, get more sleep. But for 2009 I will commit to being more transparent. This blog has been, and will continue to be, a documentation of our life as a family. But from today forward it will be seen through different eyes. I want the world to see me as I am...an imperfect child of God trying to focus more on Him and less on me. I want to sit for longer periods of time at His feet and listen.

From a blog I joyfully subscribe to (light your world):

Jesus told His disciples in John 15 that they could do nothing without Him. He told them to abide in Him and then watch what He would accomplish thru them. He told them to abide in His love and keep His commandments, just as they had watched Him keep His Father's commandments and just like He had abided in His Father's love. And He told them to do these things so that His joy would be in them. [emphasis mine]