God's Redeeming Love
God's Redeeming Love
Have you ever pondered the reason or purpose God had for creating you the way He did? Just like most of us, we despise or try to hide one or two traits. Whether personality or physical traits, an emotional response or a quirk we can’t overcome, the commonality of gratitude—or lack thereof—tempts to overwhelm us.
I’d like to share a piece I wrote last fall as I stared into the screen of an empty Zoom room. Preparing for virtual meetings, deciding how comfortable I would feel with the camera and how much background to show, wondering if I should turn off my camera, all contributed to a life long impression.
I was plain.
But what about God’s design? Was I a mistake? What happened?
I knew the answer.
And I searched for all the positive, uplifting reasons I was the way I was.
Some things I couldn’t change.
Some, I could.
I would focus on gratitude and improving the traits and straightening the quirks. At least the quirks I could fix.
The balance of my quirky, nerdiness—well, at nearly 60 years old, I had better come to terms with the me that God designed and shake off the jitters and fears, no matter what opinion I held of myself.
Time to shine.
Time to shine for Jesus through the perceived or actual flaws.
It’s all we can manage in this imperfect world.
So, shed your what-ifs and if-onlys and find your safe place to shine for Jesus as you embrace God’s redeeming love.
God’s Redeeming Love
God's Redeeming Love
All my adult life—
scratch that—
All my life
my pencil scribbled my dreams—
my failures.
My what-ifs
and if-onlys and—
Stop.
My pencil doesn’t always obey.
All my life I’ve longed for
the kind of face
that people find beautiful—
radiant—
stunning.
God’s pencil had other plans.
Vanity never found me.
Pride in my appearance?
Not a problem—
not me.
Scribbles and scratching of worn
and ripped years—
torn experiences—
tired stories.
Oh, so tired.
My pencil scoots across the page
in black and gray lines of a self-portrait—
aging and marked
with regrets—
with sorrow—
yet whole.
Not yet finished—
but whole—complete.
A working piece of art.
I can’t erase the gray
or line-carved crevices of time—
in my skin—
on my face.
But beauty lies
within the eyes.
God’s redeeming love
that frames my photograph today—
shines—in the sketches
of a life—
a love—
a joy that covers the plainness
and radiates
new life.
And if others can see Jesus
instead of me—
the beauty I sought in my youth—
not in vain.
The glory of His truth
redeems
even the plainest life
and makes us His work of art—
by His
redeeming love.
written by Patricia Tiffany Morris
Revised 5/24/21.
First Published at Word Weavers International Blog on 3/12/21.