"And God saw that it was good"

As I am wrapping up for the night, I'm sitting here at my kitchen table looking at the paintings on my walls I've done this year and looking at the PDFs of all the graphic design projects from this semester, glancing through some of the photo-shoots I've taken... And I was just thinking about all that creative energy... all the ideas that've somehow managed to tumble from my brain and out my fingertips this year...

truly they were all a gift from God...

I'll be honest, it just hit me that sometimes I put off turning in projects simply because I am not ready to part with the little pieces of me that seem to go with them... I don't mean this in a sad way... I mean to write this to make a point in a moment... bear with me: If any of you have ever spent any considerable amount of time on a project, it doesn't have to have been a creative project... but if you've dedicated your mental capacities and your time to something, perhaps you too have experienced not only the feeling of relief from being done, but especially the fulfillment that comes from stepping back and being able to say, "It is good." And yet, at the same time a hesitance to part with it...

I have never had any children, nor do I plan to anytime soon, but for those of you who have, I can only imagine the bond you feel towards your child. It came from YOU. You gave a part of your life, 9 entire months dedicated to this beautiful creation that is a part of you.

Now, imagine with me, the devastation and the heart-ache God felt when he had dedicated his time and creativity to making a beautiful creation that He was able to stand back and say, "It is good," and to not long after have to part with it: this creation that reflected who He is, and that came from his hands, that breathed the breath HE GAVE it.

When I turn my projects in, I am hesitant, but I inevitably turn them in KNOWING that I will receive them back into my hands once they are graded and entered into the books.

God too, gave his most beloved, KNOWING and COUNTING on the fact that He would come back to him again: that in his love the rest of his creation would be restored into his hands once more.

This may seem like a far stretch to some of you, but it's what hit me tonight.
Let us not forget that we are created in the image of our Father in Heaven and that when it is time, we too will be restored back into His hands. He spent too much love on us for us to throw away our lives and our identities as His sons and daughters. So if you are feeling like you are not worth much, remember that you are worth the Son of God's life. Why? Because He didn't sell you like some project for hire, He created you and loves you, and He wants to know you better. Begin deepening your relationship with Him now. There is never a wrong time. Let us come before the Father and let Him restore us to our original purpose as children of the King. For He is the Creator of all things intricate and good.