Wonderfully Made

 I turn a leaf over in my hands. Days ago, it held snug to its branch and teemed with life... summer's green all abundant. But now, the seasonal cycle has begun, and I am stopping to admire it up close. Intricate strands which once carried nutrients now lie silent, dead. 

Squirrels cheep and birds sing all around and the woods are alive with the sound of praise and I'm led to declare to myself, how could a Master Designer not have fashioned this! Have fashioned me! 

Nearby, a startled hare darts off into the brush to hide its existence, and I wonder how often we dart into our own shadows to mask who we really are. How often we perceive threats and suppose assumptions and pre-determine that we're not enough... that disguising our true selves is more desirable than staying out in the open where we might get hurt. 

As I engage my senses... take in deep breaths of the crisp, chilly air... I realize that the created world of nature knows their worth to God. Somehow, worship comes naturally. Praise is normal. Even with physical beings far inferior to the human body, these creatures innately know that their voice, their value is important to the collective symphony of existence. Lifting up their songs to the Creator and living their brief lives to the full seem like second nature to them. 

Why then, do we get so in our own heads about who we are? 

When the same Maker has said that we are of more worth to Him than sparrows (Matthew 10:31), when the One who names and numbers the starts states that He even counts the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7), when this God has made it clear that He is invested in even the tiniest details of our complicated lives, who are we to think that we do not matter to Him! That we do not matter... at all! 

Part of the journey of becoming mentally healthy is discovering your importance. Not in the sense of arrogance or pride but simply, learning how and why your voice, your personality, your gifts, your personhood, your interests, your unique perspective all play a valuable part in the ongoing story of the human race. Nobody who's ever lived was ever an accident. God knew they would exist and allowed them to be here on this planet for a reason. And that includes you and me. 

I spin the leaf over and think of how intricately God artistically designed such a thing! How something so small could put out so much into the ecosystem and be such an important part of the cycle of living. How much more then does each individual person mean to the flow of His story! If God put so much thought and intentionality into making some inanimate object like a leaf, how much more important to His story are complex people with skills and viewpoints and tastes that influence the world! 

If one is going to own one's place on this planet, if one wants to embrace the life they have been given by God, if one is going to tap into even the slightest tone of celebration and praise as the created order, then they must realize that Heaven sees them... Heaven knows them... Heaven loves them. To become an ever more whole person is to believe that God doesn't do things by chance, including put people in this world to fulfill His divine purpose. 

God's plans can be mysterious sometimes and God's ways definitely higher than our own but one thing we can be sure of at all times, God is forever looking out for our best. God cares for us so much that the human mind is literally incapable of fully grasping just how valuable we are to Him. We are truly wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). 

So next time you start to question if your presence is meaningful in the world's chaotic happenings... when you begin to wonder if God really knows and cares about you and your mundane life... when you ask yourself if the good you're trying to do on this planet counts for anything... when you feel down on yourself and others have told you that you don't matter... remember this: you. are. special! You matter more than you will ever realize. Your journey matters more than you will ever realize. Why? Because you matter to the King of the Universe. 

And yes, you matter to me, too. 

You are an amazing, beautiful soul. 

Don't forget it!