MaStErPiEcE

This weekend... I thought a lot about MASTERPIECES. I went to a high school pageant and saw two of my wonderful ladies crowned and acknowledged for their beauty.  Crown or not... God calls us his workmanship, or masterpieces, in scripture:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10

That just makes me all giddy inside because as much as I want to change things about my body and personality sometimes... God looks at me and sees a brilliant work! God crowns us everyday... whether wearing a pageant dress or a sweatsuit with no make up, hair tangled, and looking like a mess!  

Me and mom went to "Stroke of Faith" party on Saturday - we painted crosses with 50 other women from the Troy area to raise money for Relay for Life! it was a great time, but got me thinking MORE about masterpiece.  God calls us each a masterpiece... He is the artist. He carefully created and prepared us for the lives that we are in... for the bodies we have... and the stories our days are creating.  He did not make mistakes when He created you... when He created me. As much as I think of my not-so-voluptuous chest as a flaw... my eyesight as a hinderance... my ever growing caterpillar eyebrows as annoying... my Creator, the Artist, sees me as beauty... as a MASTERPIECE. You don't just call anything a MASTERPIECE... you call something treasured, cherished, intricately crafted, exquisite, exotic... that's a masterpiece. That's what he speaks to US! 

Yep... our bodies that we so often criticize are masterpieces. If you don't believe it about yourself... CLAIM IT because Jesus LIVES IN YOU!!! making you absolutely breath-taking. 


But... not only are our bodies works of art... but our stories are... our lives are.  He knew your story before you were born. He knows each day and he had made them each good.  A masterpiece, and especially my painting, is made with layers and layers of paint (my painting had a butt-load of paint on it). In the same way, our lives are made with layers of experiences, hurts, joys, milestones, decisions, events... and that is our story.  


God carefully orchestrates our lives... He allows the good and the bad. Maybe your layers are filled with hurt, lies, abuse, divorce, confusion... God knows. Maybe within your artwork there are layers of JOY, peace, comfort, miracles, salvation, and hope. 


A lot of times our mind gets so focused on that one layer... we don't see the picture... and we don't see how this destruction and hurt can EVER become BEAUTY.  




As more layers are carefully added the beauty and masterpiece can be more clearly seen. 

The Artist has a vision... He has a plan... a plan for my good... your good. He has a beautiful story in mind for our good and His glory. Rest in that .

My life is a masterpiece... not all the layers are there yet... I know some will be more painful than others... but I have a great HOPE that He knows what He's doing. 


Thankful for a God who sings over me... songs of beauty and joy.  And thankful for a mom who has taught me to seen my beauty, talents, and the unique me... and treasure it.