"You Are Special"

During the road trip I was just on with some friends we visited Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. We didn't have a lot of time there before it got dark and I wanted to find some shells to take home. There were shells everywhere, but most of them were pretty broken. A lot of them looked perfect, but once I picked them up I realized that they were broken and the sand had hidden their damaged edges. Growing up, when we would find shells on the beach we never kept the broken ones so I kept tossing those back into the sand, searching for the perfect one. My friend asked why I did that and then she said "it's okay if it's a little broken. Most of them are." Almost immediately I heard very clearly in my mind the words "I created them just as I created you." 

I was reminded of a book that my mom loved to read to us when I was little called "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. It's a story of Punchinello and the wooden Wemmicks who either stick gold stars or gray dots on one another. The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always get stars. The talented ones do, too. Others, though, who can do little or who have chipped paint, get ugly, gray dots. Punchinello is one of these. He believes that he has nothing to offer and isn't good enough because of what others say about him. Then Punchinello meets Eli, the wood carver, who helps him understand how special he is, regardless of the dots and marks others give him. Eli teaches him a principal that could never possibly be taught enough in the world today. He said "the stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers." Punchinello doesn't understand at first so Eli invites him to come visit each day to remind him how important he is. 

"Remember, you are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes." 

There are ALWAYS going to be people who spend their time putting gray dots and shiny stickers on everyone they see. There will always be those who find their own fleeting self-worth by putting others down and choosing to only see the inevitable imperfections in all of us. I think far too often we think "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" means that it's up to us to decide what is beautiful and what isn't. Instead, "beauty is in the eye of The Beholder." The One who sees, The One who knows, The One who created beautiful. 

We live in a world that constantly tries to take God out of the equation. But just like Eli invited Punchinello to do, He invites us to spend time with Him each day so that we may learn how special we are, despite the imperfections the world sees in us. The more we understand the beauty within ourselves, the more we will see it in others and in all of His marvelous creations. I believe that broken things are a testament of His love for us. They are a testament of His goodness, His strength, and His power. Without brokenness, there would have been no need for a Savior and His Infinite Sacrifice. There would have been no point for this earthly existence. 

Heavenly Father allows us to experience the brokenness of mortality just as this shell experiences in the sea. We feel intense pressures and strong currents that can damage us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Instead of seeing those broken edges and cracks as deserving of gray dots, we should view them as places for Christ to step in and help us see them as components of our true beauty. Things that allow us to understand who He is and what He can do. They are proof of what we have endured, proof of experience and growth. I don't believe that I will arrive in heaven covered in shiny gold stars. I imagine arriving exhausted, worn, and probably very broken, but with a gratitude that He held my hand through it all and a joy that I was able to experience it all to become more like The One who created me. 

There is nothing particularly beautiful about this shell. It is plain and small. There are no vibrant colors or unique patterns. Compared to others, it seems insignificant. There isn't anything very beautiful about it. It is broken and unfinished, but still special. Just like me. Just like you.