Freckles

On a recent morning, I stood before the mirror to apply my make-up. As I leaned in, I kind of laughed inside as I was struck with an unmistakable truth. Over the course of our boys' baseball games that week, my freckles had sprouted!

Freckles (for me) are nothing new. They've been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But throughout my childhood, it wasn't so easy to laugh them off. People often commented on my freckles...how cute they were, how sweet they were, how they made me look like Little Orphan Annie or Melissa Gilbert. That pacified me when I was little, but as I grew older, that "encouragement" didn't help. I was convinced everyone was lying. To me, my freckles were undesirable. ugly. distracting. I wanted pure, flawless skin like porcelain. I believed that my freckles were simply one of those areas where God had made a "mistake" in His creation of me.

We all have those areas of our lives, don't we? Areas in which we're dissatisfied, discontent, or simply angry. Areas where we feel we got the short end of the stick. Areas where we question what God was thinking.

But what people told me then (and I refused to believe) is what I've since come to understand and embrace. It's the truth in which I've come to rest, bask, and rejoice: I am a masterpiece. And so are you.

God wove and pieced me together bit by bit. He chose my eye color, skin tone, and nose. He created in me leanings and giftings and passions. And He sprinkled freckles across my face...evidence of His fingerprint upon my life.

And that's why I laughed on that recent day when I spied a fresh smattering of freckles across my nose and cheeks. Oh, I still don't LOVE my freckles, but I accept them. I'm content with them. And I'm glad for how they remind me that my identity doesn't come from what *I* perceive as the perfect look of beauty. I'm beautiful simply because God made me....and that's enough. I'm His princess. And the Bible says He's enthralled with my beauty.

"The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with his love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

I'm asking Him to encourage you with this truth today...