TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• When you’re related to (or friends with) a writer, you never know when or where you might show up in a story or article. It’s what one might call the “occupational risk” of knowing a writer. My mother is well-acquainted with that risk and last night, after a bit of family panic, she said, “I’d better not show up in your blog tomorrow.” I just laughed at her. She knows better. So Mom, I love you and won’t pick on you too badly. But… you knew this was coming…
So here’s what happened… My son (who lives with my mom) couldn’t get her to answer her phone. It was pretty late when he called me and he was starting to get really worried. I got back up, and tried calling too. She wasn’t answering me either. It was unlikely that she would miss hearing the phone. She has an obnoxious train whistle set as her ringer; there’s nothing subtle about it. Charlie said he was going home and because I was getting more than a little anxious myself, I got dressed to meet him at their house. I was on my way to the car when she finally called me back. She had left her phone on the other side of the house.
I conferenced in my son so he could have his rare, shining moment to chastise her for worrying him, and the three of us had a late night family discussion on the importance of communication and double standards (we both get angry at my son for not answering our calls so we collectively agreed that the rule goes all directions). Charlie got off the phone so he could focus on driving, and Mom and I continued to talk. She didn’t understand why he was so upset.
What she doesn’t realize is how much she means to him. I mean, she knows he loves her. She is his grandmother, after all. And they honestly make great roommates for each other. They both love action movies and have severe cases of insomnia. But Charlie isn’t always the most affectionate and he doesn’t always say what’s on his heart. He’s very much a compartmentalizer. He tells her stuff he won’t tell me and tells me stuff he doesn’t tell her.
After we wrapped up our call, and I settled in to try to get sleepy again, I thought about what Mom said. It boggles my mind that she doesn’t fully realize how important she is to Charlie. He would be lost without her. Mom and C have always been close, but his love and appreciation for her runs very, very deep. Probably deeper than he truly knows how to express. And he’s also a 22-year-old guy. Sorry to any fellas who are reading, but y’all aren’t always great communicators when you’re 22. So, Mom, you don’t see the value C puts on you, but I do. He loves you with all his heart. Please don’t doubt it for a moment, even if he doesn’t always show it.
And as I’ve thought about it more, I wonder if God is hurt at our own inability to see our value in His eyes. We walk around feeling lonely when He’s just waiting for us to talk to Him. We exclude Him from decisions. We fail to communicate with Him. We criticize ourselves. We devalue our worth. We call ourselves ugly. We put ourselves down all the while He’s looking at us thinking, “But I worked so hard on you; I even died for you so I could be with you forever!”
What if we embraced the words of King David and said to God, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). What if instead of seeing our flaws, we recognized ourselves as a one-of-a-kind creation who is deeply loved by the one and only Living God! What if we took Him at His word and acknowledged how much we mean to Him? He thinks so highly of you that even if you were the only person who ever lived, He would still endure the cross to be with you! He’s the one who will leave the 99 to find the one lost sheep! And that is a love we cannot ignore.
Today, as you pray, praise God for loving you. He didn’t make you to abandon you, but He lets you come to Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be mindful of your worth, so you can live for the Savior who thinks so highly of you that He thought you were worth dying for…
SHARING ••• Please share with others! Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
One Response
This is why I am so passionate about my Christian based wellness ministry. God created us, loves us, died for us, and lives in us! Don’t you think we should take care of His house? People ask me how they can create healthy habits. This is my answer. Believe that you are worth it!