A Masterpiece…Yes! That’s What You Are

I did not always think of myself as a masterpiece. I spent my teenage years trying to be anyone but me.

If I am to be honest, my low self-esteem began in eighth grade when I came back from summer break a “woman”. I was the first to blossom in my class. Everybody took notice.

The girls started to snicker behind my back. The boys started to “accidently” run into me in the hallways.

I was and still am a person that handles life better on the sidelines. I do not want to be the star player. Do not shine a spotlight on me…Please!

All of this attention on me did not sit well. I became very anxious.

Something must be wrong with me?

How do I hide them?

I can’t suck them in.

Pretend to be proud of them.

I cannot let them see how much it hurts.

The realization that I needed to be one person at school, tough and proud, and another at home, meek and content, was just part of growing up, so I believed.

This unhealthy view of myself carried on into high school where I realized I was fat. (Sidenote here: I was not fat. But a 15 year old girl just dumped by her boyfriend could not swim beyond the shallows.)

My solution to being fat…eat nothing and exercise all the time. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

I lost so much weight that when I was measured for my new band uniform, the lady ratted me out to my band teacher who then began to monitor me during lunch time.

I had another friend who kept leaving school just to bring back something he thought I might actually eat.

Again…all eyes on me, or so it felt.

Unhealthy Distractions

Anorexia is an easy distraction from the real problems going on beneath the surface and I was not the only one suffering from it in my class. High School is no joke! You either swim with the sharks or get eaten by them.

Fortunately, I jolted out of this phase in my life several months later and moved on to other damaging behaviors. (Will not burden you with all this drama in one post.)

Unfortunately, another girl in my class never recovered and died from it several years later. (You see someone suffering from this behavior, help them before it is too late! Please!!)

Read: Psalm 139:13-18

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 New Living Translation

You are a masterpiece! God’s creation made just so. Every brush stroke and every color meticulously chosen and placed.

The halls of an art gallery can be such a beautiful and wondrous place to visit. Every piece of art provokes some sort of emotion…some positive…some negative…some fall in the gray area, but all create emotional energy.

Every once in awhile a piece of art will cause me to stop and wonder at its creation.

What was the artist thinking?

Is there a message here?

Does the creation represent the creator?

There are the pieces that cause me to smile without really knowing why, and cry outwardly without understanding where the tears come from.

The artist behind the masterpiece creates with intention and creates to purposely invoke emotion on all who see it.

God is that artist and you are His masterpiece.

It defies all rational to think of ourselves in this way. The human flesh sees only the flaws and shouts accusations of failure. Oh! How Satan loves this human tendency of self-loathing.

But how glorious the eyes of the Holy Spirit that resides in all who believe. Those eyes see that the imperfections are what make the masterpiece purposeful.

The broken places where God’s light shines through.

Cracks in the darkness that give way to illuminating truth.

We are God’s masterpiece…created with purpose…

Where are the broken places in your life that God’s light can shine through? Can you see purpose in those broken places?