Thankful, Day Thirty-Nine

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

Here I am. I'm 38 years old. I stand five-foot-six-and-three-quarter-inches in my sock feet. I weigh two-hundred and fifty eight pounds soaking wet. I have wavy (or curly if it gets to long) mousy brown hair. I have blue eyes. I have a big nose. I have crooked bottom teeth that look like fangs. I have freckles and moles all over. And I am made in the image and likeness of God.

In nine months, I'll turn 39. In forty years, I could be shorter--but I'll never be taller. I could conceivably lose weight, and I want to. I dyed my hair one time and swore never to do it again. I could wear colored contacts, pay for a nose job and braces, and have ever blemish removed or bleached from my body. But why mess with perfection?

After all, it's comforting to think that God reflects Himself in a short, middle-aged, fat man. If I'll let Him.

We cannot by worrying add one measure to our stature, nor change the true color of a hair on our head. This is who we are, this is how we are put together. There are alot of people who spend alot of their time worrying about their appearance. I'm not denying that I'm one of those people, although I don't spend ALOT of time doing it. And I think, if I just do this or that, I could look a whole lot better than I do now. But I have learned not to hate myself because of my physical formation.

Do you know why?

Because it is the Lord who has made us, and not we ourselves!

Thank You Lord that you formed me, in the inward parts of my mother, and You called me by name. You have been active in shaping me with Your Almighty hands from the moment of my conception, and I am gratefully overwhelmed by the knowledge that I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Thank You Lord that you formed the inward part of me, that through the new birth of salvation through Jesus Christ You have given me new life. For though you shaped me physically and made a place for Yourself in me spiritually, I was still born lost in the sinfulness of my race, in need of salvation, spiritually dead. But when I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, You brought me into everlasting life!

Thank You Lord that You continue to work on me, molding me and shaping me into the image and likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. You love me just as I am, but You love me too much to leave me this way. Everyday is a new process, taking me higher, deeper, farther in You, until the day when I measure up to the full stature of Jesus. Lord, until then, please keep working on me! For I must decrease, that He might increase.

Thank you Lord, for making me as I am. I am your handiwork.