“Wonderfully Made”

When I took a college English course, our first assignment was to write an essay about whether we would rather lose our sight or lose our legs. It was a thought-provoking choice. If we became blind, we would miss seeing our loved ones and all the beauty of our world. If we could not walk, we would be hindered from traveling and moving around without help. I chose to keep my eyesight since I love to read and write and enjoy the variety and beauty that surrounds us.  

Of course, I’m glad I didn’t have to make that choice in real life, but it was a thought-provoking assignment. It made me think about how much we take our bodies for granted. I began to think about all the organs, veins, arteries, canals, nerves, and bones we have in our bodies and how they all work together to keep us alive and healthy.

It is not until we lose one of them that we realize how magnificent we are, created in the “image and likeness of God.” God loves each and every one of us as if we were the one and only creature on earth. Yet many of us have feelings of unworthiness, of “unlovableness”, and inadequacy.

We need to look in the mirror and tell ourselves how beautiful we are. Maybe it would help to write a message on our mirror that says, “I am the apple of God’s eye.” There’s a verse in Psalm 139 that reads, “I praise you for I am wonderfully made.” (ICEL translation). It always lifts my heart when we sing it.