Created With a Purpose

I have been wanting to blog for quite sometime now, and just haven't really found the time. Better late than never, right?

I wanted to start this post off with a verse.

Psalm 139:13-16

"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. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

When I think about everything that can happen to a baby while it is still being formed in the womb. I think about all the miscarrages that happen. I think about all the complex processes that have to take place, all the chromsones that determine each little thing. How is none of this not purposeful? God knit each one of us. He formed us with a plan in mind.

I love watching Little House on the Prairie. I love the simplicity of life during that time period. One of my favorite episodes is where Laura tries to change herself in order to gain the attention of the boy she has a crush on. Of course her attempts end in embarrassment, but she is trying to be more like her older sister Mary who always has boys flocking after her. Ma, in her wisdom, gives this advice to Laura: "God must love Laura Ingalls and aweful lot to go through all that trouble creating her. I wonder how he feels when she tries to go acting like someone else?" It's true though. Often times I sit there and think, "if only I could do that like so and so" or, "if only I was able to do this or that as a kid." The fact is God made me me. He didn't make me like anyone else. He gave me certain gifts and talents and not others. If my life would be better with different qualities and talents and abilities, He would have created me with those things. The fact is, God has a specific purpose and plan for my life. That is why He created me the way He did. There was one day in class last semester when a friend was talking about how if she had the personality of another student. My first response was, "God didn't go through the trouble making a Shelby just to have her acting like a Bri." Needless to say, I spend too much time watching Little House on the Prairie. But when I think about it, we all have those people in our lives that we wish we could be more like. I'm not saying that we should give up trying to better ourselves, but what I'm saying is be happy and content with what we have been given. God has given each person strengths we can use.

I'm starting my internship working at a place that works with those with mental retardation who also suffer from other mental disabilities such as personality disorders. Yesterday I got to meet with some of the guys who will be a part of the group sessions I'll be leading. Each one of those guys have come from a rough background. They come from homes and situations where it would be hard to find hope. God created each and every one of them with a specific purpose. Each one has different talents and abilities. They may not come from the best of environments to foster sucess, but God has equipped them with gifts and talents that they can use to overcome that. God has a plan for each one of them.

Isn't that amazing to think about? God has a specific purpose and plan for my life. He loves me so much, that he formed me in my mother's womb. He had a plan for me long before I was born. I wasn't born, then after seeing what all I can do did God say, "Oh, I know what I can have Amanda do" or "Well Amanda obviously isn't coordinated enough to be some big time athlete so I guess I can't plan for her to be one. What might she be able to do?" No. God created me saying, "I am going to create Amanda for this and this purpose. If people only knew what great things I have in store for her." He says that about each and every one of us.

I hope this post is an ecouragement.