Mary: I wear my heart on my sleeve. When I’m upset, EVERYONE knows. My dad was off work the day after Christmas, so we decided to go out and have a family day. I was super excited… until I had to figure out what to wear. It’s a girl’s worst nightmare. I’ve never been comfortable with the way I look. Either my face has too many red spots or my stomach looks too big or my hair won’t do what I want it to do. (First world problems, but that’s a whole other issue.) The problem that day was that none of the shirts I tried looked quite right. So I settled for a big NYU t-shirt and a huge ACU hoodie. As soon as I walk out of my room, I know my mom can tell something’s up. I was determined not to ruin the family day with my insecurities. All I could think is “I ruined God’s masterpiece. I smudged it. I messed up.” Eventually, Mom got to me.
Martha: I have always struggled with self-esteem. Weight, hair, family issues, finances, education. It has often kept me from engaging with others, and I look back, I have missed many opportunities because I was afraid. One of my biggest fears has been that my children would struggle as well. When Mary told me she felt she had smudged the masterpiece, my initial reaction was immense guilt. I am the mom. I should have taught her better eating habits. I shouldn’t have used food as a reward or celebration. I should have been a better example. But, before I spoke, I prayed. God showed me, and helped me find the words to tell her, that we have all smudged his masterpiece. Not just through overeating, but emotionally through judgment of others, spiritually through lack of faith, through putting others before him. The beauty, though, is that the Ultimate Artist, our precious savior, can redeem the masterpiece and remove the smudges, refining us into the work of art that God created to do his will on earth.
Mary: Song of Solomon 4:7 (NIV) says “You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” If that verse doesn’t give us instant reassurance that God created us with a specific design and purpose for us, then I don’t know how else we can get that. One of my favorite songs is “Beautiful You” by Johnny Diaz. The first verse talks about a fourteen year old girl who can’t seem to fit the world’s description of beauty. The thing is, we don’t need to fill the world’s description of beauty because the very God that made the heavens and the earth and stars and taught them how to shine made us IN HIS IMAGE. We are made in God’s image. Let that resonate for a minute. We are God’s masterpiece and that will never change. No matter how much we feel we smudged the paint or ruined the sculpture or poured water all over that charcoal drawing, God can fix it. God can take our broken mess and turn it into something beautiful. “There can never be a more beautiful you. Defy the lies, disguises, and hoops they make you jump through. You were made for a purpose, that only you can do. There can never be a more beautiful you.”
Mom: God has blessed me with an incredibly insightful daughter with whom I am elated and honored to share thoughts and love and life. We don’t know yet how often we will, in my words “Share our thoughts”, but our prayer is that when we do, it is with God’s leading and you will find something that will lead you closer to him. I am excited to see where God leads us. Let us know your thoughts.