Beauty in Everything... Even Me!

 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. (Psalm 139:13-18 ESV).

 

It’s always easy for me to write about the beauty of God’s creation as I did yesterday. However, as I become more microscopic and think about personal beauty… well, that’s a different story altogether. The picture I’ve attached is several years old. I have aged more than I care to admit since then! But even without the aging process, I could not honestly think that the first thought in seeing this photo would be “beauty.” Cancer, Cardio-Vascular Disease, fourteen different surgical procedures (six of them on my heart), broken bones, and an incurable blood disorder all have played a part in what some might call an “ugly” life. However, not one of these things, or anything that has taken place in my journey is ugly in the eyes of God. In fact, all of these were a part of God’s design from the beginning when He “knitted me together… before the foundation of the world” (v. 13).

 

You may ask the question about all those mistakes in the past that also make up my story; or, how about the failed dreams and aspirations as life simply hasn’t turned out the way I had hoped. Even those are in the hands of my gracious, loving Father. And, He has something different to say. In our reading today. God assures all of us that we are “wonderfully made.” God’s creative power was at work not just in forming galaxies at the beginning of time, but also in forming each unique part of us. God made us, individually and collectively beautiful.

 

Further, Psalm 139 assures us that the God who formed us before we were born is still intimately involved in our lives. The God who made us beautiful at the beginning continues to show us grace and to create beauty in us every day. By God’s grace, we are not defined by the successes or failures in our life. We are defined by the love of the God who created us in beauty. While looking in the mirror, I cannot be deceived by that dull image. God is in the process of finishing His work of beauty to be revealed in eternity!