“God sat down for a moment when the dog was finished in order to watch it…

and to know that it was good…

that nothing was lacking…

that it could not have been made better”

R.M. Rilke

His name was Houdini because he could escape anything I put him in. He was one out of a litter of  9 Standard Poodles I had some years ago. I donated him as a puppy to Summit Assistance Dogs to be trained and used as a therapy dog and I was given a clay wall hanging with those words written on them as a thank you.

The accolades given dogs amaze me. I am a dog breeder and love them but I don’t think they walk on water, in fact, I’m pretty sure they don’t. They are wonderful, and perhaps those of us who adore dogs would readily agree with those words written about them,  but I wonder if we changed the words above to read like this how many of us would still agree with it.

God sat down for a moment when you were finished, when I was finished, in order to watch us…

and to know that we were good…

that nothing was lacking…

that we could not have been made better

I can almost hear a collective groan. I know I’m groaning. I groan because I think I could have been made better. I groan just thinking about the number of times I have envied some gifting someone else was born with and lamented that I was not so gifted.  Because what? I know better than God how I should be? Comparison is such an insidious thing, robbing us of recognizing our uniqueness. What if we could actually embrace those words, that God was pleased with us, just the way He created us; that we could not have been made better? Isn’t that what He is saying here:

…for You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.…

Psalm 139:13

If God is pleased with me, with how He made me, why is it so hard to accept myself the way I am?  I need to accept that I was made exactly how God intended and He calls His creation good. I am who I am by God’s design and I am fearfully and wonderfully made even if I don’t believe that. My belief or lack of belief doesn’t change what God calls me. Your belief or lack of belief doesn’t change what He calls you. He didn’t make a mistake when He made me and He didn’t make a mistake when He made you.

Father, how hard it is to see myself just as You do. Do You watch me with a smile on Your face? Do Your eyes light up when You see me? Am I really the apple of Your eye? Are You proud to show me off – there’s my daughter, my beautiful daughter? Forgive me for seeing myself as anything less than Your creation, Your masterpiece. Even as I write these words, I know I am a long way away from truly believing them. Help me to believe them as I give myself permission to believe them and thank You – thank You for creating me just the way You did. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I would love to hear from you. Please let me know if I can be praying for you as well.