God Made You Special and He Loves You Very Much

Have you seen Veggie Tales? I love them. And I love their tagline.

God did make each one of us special. When was the last time you focused on that? It is so much easier to focus on what we don't like about ourselves. And our culture is more than happy to assist in that. Just take a look at the magazine covers next time you are in the check-out line. Are you stunningly beautiful? Independently wealthy? Driving the latest and greatest car? Madly in love with someone who is madly in love with you? Running your own Fortune 500 company?

Probably not. Perhaps your jeans are a size or two bigger than what you would like. Maybe you found a new grey hair this morning. Maybe your car is old and your love-life is a bit dull. Or maybe your job is anything but glamorous.

But, at your core, the very center of who you are, you are special. It doesn't matter what you look like or what kind of car you drive. It doesn't matter how you measure up in the world. What matters is that God created you exactly as he wanted you to be.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Psalm 139:14

So, the next time you are standing in line at the grocery store and notice the beautiful, wealthy people on the covers of the magazines remember, God made you special and he loves you very much.

It's All in How You Look at It

My dad had a lung transplant last September. And his recovery has been a rough road. In fact, next week he has to go back to the hospital (which is halfway across the country from where he lives) and have a chemo-type treatment for rejection.

I have been amazed by his attitude throughout this entire ordeal. Since his transplant just 7 months ago he has had RSV, pneumonia, a fungal infection, a nearly life-ending blood clot and rejection (twice). Yet, he remains hopeful and optimistic. I have yet to even hear him complain.

A few weeks ago I was at my parents' house for dinner. My dad was struggling at the time. He required constant supplemental oxygen and couldn't stand for very long. As he sat at the table with oxygen tubes in his nose, he explained to me that he has decided he would like to become a singer. He's not looking to be the next American Idol, but he would like to try out for his church choir.

This sounded fairly ridiculous to me, but I just listened. His next statement blew me away. "I think I'd have a real advantage over other beginners because I've learned to breathe with my diaphragm since the lung transplant."

This is why my dad will be around for 20 more years if he has any say in the matter. He's 73 years old, has a lung that didn't originally belong to him, is on oxygen and can't stand up for more than 10 minutes at a time. Yet he "has a real advantage" when it comes to singing in the choir.

How much of our success in life has to do with our perspective, with the way we view our situation? Are you a victim, or a conqueror?