Bible Reading: John 1:10-14
The Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. John 1:14
Even before Katrina was born she was destined to be a model and an actress. She was six months old when her mother, Joyce, moved them to California and signed her with a modeling agency to do baby-product commercials. The little girl’s childhood was packed with modeling contests, dancing and acting classes, and commercial auditions. Joyce was determined her daughter would have the perfect looks of a Hollywood star. Every piece of food Katrina ate was okayed by her mother. Every minute of her demanding fitness routines was charted and analyzed. Every hair on Katrina’s head was always in place.
The night Katrina graduated from a private school in Los Angeles, she disappeared from the all-night country-club celebration. Months later she was found in a shelter for homeless teens in Baltimore, a dirty and scared runaway.
Joyce bought Katrina a plane ticket home. “Look at your hair, your skin,” Joyce cried as she saw her daughter. “You have ruined your life.”
“No, Mother,” Katrina shot back. “I ruined your life. I never had a life, not until I left home. You made me into a Barbie doll. I was your toy. I only mattered to you when I was posing or performing. Well, your Barbie doll has grown up now, Mother, and you can’t play with me anymore.”
Katrina stayed in Los Angeles, where a former classmate invited her to attend a small church. Even though the church members didn’t know about Katrina’s past, she had difficulty accepting their kindness. She had the same distrust for God, thinking he couldn’t possibly be interested in her.
Talk about it: How do you feel when people are interested in the things that interest you? How do you feel when people ignore you?
If people don’t pay attention to you—who you are and what you love to do, you feel like trash. But when people enter your world and show interest in the things that interest you, you feel like the treasure you are. The good news is that God loved you enough to enter your world. He came from heaven to earth to be part of your human struggles and to die for your sins. He is totally interested in you—and he always will be!
TALK: How have the people around you shown interest in your world? How has God proven his interest in you?
PRAY: God, sometimes we feel like we have to fit a mold made by other people. Thank you for being interested in us just the way we are.
ACT: Show interest in a hobby or activity of a friend you’ve ignored or put down in the past. Report back on how your friend reacts to your attention.
