You are God's masterpiece!
Do you know that? Do you believe that?
You and I are crafted perfectly, gloriously shaped and handmade by a loving Creator, fashioned just right for His glory. Sometimes it feels to us like He made a mistake or overlooked certain things, from "why must my hair be this kinky and crazy?!" to "why does this hurt so much?" But the truth is, we ARE God's masterpieces! (Ephesians 2:10) He did not make any mistakes in us. And just like any artist molding and shaping something into being, God left His fingerprints of glory all over us.
You can see it in the way of a smile, in radiant eyes, through the joyful laugh of a child, the tender hug of a mother, and in wrinkled old hands that tell tales of precious years gone by...
I've been thinking a lot about fingerprints lately. A few weeks ago I went to the Bryan Detention Center where we are beginning a volunteer program through Traffick911. My fingerprints had to be taken for their standard background check, and I was astonished and slightly bewildered to discover, I don't have fingerprints! Or atleast, my fingerprints aren't deep and grooved enough to be acceptable in their system. 9 of my 10 fingers didn't show up a good enough fingerprint! Such a strange discovery to make of myself. Is it genetic? Or did I just burn my fingers one too many times while cooking? Who knows.
Shortly after I made this discovery, Edgar and I were summoned to Houston to have our fingerprints made as a part of the US government background check for our adoption! The appointment was set for early in the morning this last Monday the 8th. To be honest, I was quite curious how it would go...would they need my toe prints instead?! We made an event out of it by driving in Sunday night to stay with our amazing rockstar friends Adam & Jennifer, we even got a surprise visit from the gorgeous newlyweds Bryan & Danielle and then crashed late that night without our alarm properly set...
Oops.
Yes, 12 minutes before we wanted to hit the road for our appointment, our hero of the day Adam knocked on our bedroom door and sent us springing into action mode. We flurried out the door (scrambled eggs in a plastic cup and all! thanks Jen!) and somehow made it on time. And the best news of all?
Their machines work really well! I actually DO have fingerprints. :-) Not very deep ones, obviously, but after many times of trying and retrying, they finally got most of my fingerprints captured and documented. What a relief! And what a bummer: my future as a bank robber and Bible smuggler had started looking very exciting.
On this side of eternity, I sure do have a lot more questions than answers. Many things don't make sense to my mind. That is not to belittle the smallness of the way I think, but that is just to remind myself of the bigness of the God who formed us! His ways are precious and perfect; He doesn't make mistakes.
I don't know why I don't have good fingerprints.
I don't know why Edgar's broken finger won't just heal and get better.
I don't know why we lost two children.
I don't know why things take so long and the wait hurts so much.
I don't know why hard things seem to happen all at the same time.
I don't know why people have to suffer abuse, torture, famine, hunger, death, war, disease...
But then again, I do know: because we live in a broken world crying out for a Savior to come and rescue us. And friends, He is here. He has come. He did not orchestrate the pain but He does compose and arrange the healing. So in the middle of all the questions, let's remind ourselves of all that He has done... His fingerprints of glory are everywhere we look. Take a moment to breathe in the sweet scents around you; soak in a sunset; treasure a laugh with a friend. His glory is everywhere, and even in the midst of sorrow, His fingerprints can still take your breath away...
"For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You." Psalm 139
