Celebrate Your Uniqueness

“Christ has given each of us special abilities – whatever He wants us to have out of His rich storehouse of gifts.” (Ephesians 4:7 LB)

Ramblings from Evan’s dad – I sit here this morning sipping out of a coffee cup that I like, but it’s not my favorite. This one is colorful and festive for this time of year. My favorite one is not as colorful, in fact, it’s bone colored. This one is pristine in condition, not a blemish to be seen. My favorite has two chips on one side of it. They’ve almost thrown my favorite away multiple times. I have saved it at least once from the trashcan in our kitchen. It is safe to say the others pass it over when grabbing one to pour a cup of coffee. Not I. Sometimes I will find it amongst the dirty dishes. I will take the time to carefully hand wash it, so that it can once again hold vigil with my morning coffee.

What makes that cup so special? Well for one, I have been drinking coffee out of it since Evan was in diapers. We have been through a lot together. We have seen a lot together. Secondly, from a functionality standpoint, it is a heavier more dense mug. Since it is heavier, it keeps my coffee warm longer.

That cup has faithfully held hundreds of gallons of coffee for me. It might not be the prettiest, it might not be the newest, but I know it can still do an excellent job at the job for which it was designed. And no matter how hot the coffee, it never complains.

I am hoping God looks at me the same way. Heaven knows I am not as pretty and colorful as a lot of the other mugs in life. Heaven knows I have a few more scars and imperfections now then I did when I started. But one day almost 30 years ago, God in His infinite mercy, pulled me out of the trash. He saw ALL the imperfections, He saw ALL my filth, and said I can use him. He lovingly cleaned me off, bathed me in the cleansing power of His Son’s blood, and then announced that I was clean. For that, I am eternally grateful!….

Christ has given each of us special abilities – whatever He wants us to have out of His rich storehouse of gifts. (Ephesians 4:7 LB)