Bible Reading: Psalm 139:13-14
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. Psalm 139:14
EVER STOOD in front of the mirror and thought something like, “God, you messed up when you made me”?
Is it possible for God to make a mistake on one of his creations?
You’re lucky if you’ve never looked in the mirror and gagged. Maybe you noticed a creepy resemblance of your backside to a rhino’s back end. Or you suddenly discover why you have to run around in the shower to get wet-you’re so skinny the water spray misses you. Or you’re missing the bulked-up muscles of a professional bodybuilder.
And even people with perfect complexions have had the experience of heading out the door for school and grabbing one last glance in the mirror, only to find a Godzilla-like pimple is holding the end of their nose hostage.
You yell, “Why me, God? Did you have to blow it on me? Wouldn’t my little brother have made a better victim if you had to make a mistake?”
Listen carefully. You aren’t alone. All of us have felt that way-even your school’s homecoming queen and starting quarterback. But the truth is that God doesn’t make mistakes. He didn’t goof on you or anyone else. Whether you feel too tall, too short, too big, too little, or even too ugly, God made you just as you are. He thinks you are perfect.
God loves variety. That’s why no two flowers are exactly the same, no two snowflakes are the same, and no two people are the same. He didn’t want you to be just like everybody else because to him, you’re a stand-out. He made you different because you deserve to be different. You deserve to be interesting and unique.
You do, of course, have some options in how you look. You can’t change how tall you are, but you can somewhat control how much of you there is filling up that height. How you eat (several slabs of pizza every day for lunch do impact how you look-duh!) and how you exercise (sitting in front of the TV doesn’t really count) will make a difference. And a doctor can help you solve some appearance problems with your skin, weight, and overall wellness.
But the basic genetic formula that stares back at you in the mirror is God’s masterpiece. You are special because God made you special, different because God made you different. If you looked like everyone else, you wouldn’t be you.
REFLECT: What do you think when you Look in the mirror? How are you different from other people?
PRAY: Use David’s prayer in Psalm 139:14 today to start your own prayer of appreciation for who and what you are.
