Recently, some of my students at school read about a man that you may not be familiar with. His name was Wilson Bentley, and he lived from 1865-1931. Even without the help of today’s technology, he spent many, many hours of his life using micro-photography to capture pictures of individual snow crystals to share with the world. And his photographs are amazingly beautiful! Even more so when I learned the lengths he had to go to in order to create them.
He took many, many pictures over the years, but he never found two snow crystals that were identical. They are all beautiful, and they all share some similar characteristics, but each one is uniquely designed. He studied the weather and found that even slight differences in the atmosphere - humidity, air pressure, wind, etc. - created differences in the patterns of the snow crystals.
Today our school dismissed early because it snowed. I love to watch it falling, but as I watched today, I also thought about Bentley’s snowflake pictures and just how many individual designs there were piling up on our landscape. And although they are beautiful all piled together and covering everything with their white blanket, I can’t really see the individual beauty of each snowflake from my window. I can’t appreciate the delicate patterns that make each one special without some special equipment and a commitment of time.
I think I am like that with people, too. I know that God has created each person with individual differences that make us each special and one-of-a-kind. But I don’t think I always take the time to appreciate that. Especially when it comes to my own design.
I am pretty aware of my own strengths and weaknesses, but I have to say that I probably focus more on my weaknesses than my strengths. Those are pretty easy for me to rattle off - even if some of them are hard to own. However, when it comes to those around me, I tend to see more of their strengths than their weaknesses.
For me, that is usually a comparison where I come out the loser. I think things like, “My coworker is so organized! I wish I was more like that!” Or, “Man, my friend is so much better at encouraging others than I am!”
But God is showing me that He has created me to be different from any other person. He gave me a unique set of talents and abilities, as well as weaknesses, that make me who I am. He has given me individualized life lessons - challenges and difficulties to overcome and work through - that have changed me and shaped me into the person I am today. And He wants to use all those strengths and weaknesses for His purposes.
Maybe you are like me and don’t always feel like you measure up to those around you. Maybe you sometimes wonder why God made you the way He did instead of making you more like someone else. Maybe you wonder why you have had to endure certain trials and difficulties when others around you have not. Maybe you feel very common when you’d like to be special.
Friends, can I ask you to please read again the scripture at the top of the page? I’ll put it here again for you.
20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Romans 9:20-21
God created you just as you are. And He has a purpose for your life. He loves you and sees your unique beauty, even if you don’t. You are not just one small snowflake in the middle of a huge drift. You are a special, one-of-a-kind creation, custom-made to fulfill His plan and complete His will. Those trials and difficulties are the environment that have shaped and are still shaping you into the person He has designed you to be.
You are treasured. You are beautiful. You are loved. Just as you are.
And maybe someone else in your life needs you right now. Maybe they need you to notice their beauty - their strengths and gifts - and tell them about it. Maybe someone needs to hear how you endured through something difficult so they can do the same. Maybe God can use you today to encourage and lift up someone else who desperately needs it. Maybe God wants you to use your special gifts and abilities to serve someone else around you and be a blessing to them. Will you allow Him to use you for His purposes today?
Father God, Your creation is so amazing! Your designs astounding in their individualized beauty! Help me to remember that You are my creator - that You created me just as I am on purpose and for Your purposes. I want You to use me today. Show me how to be a blessing to someone else today.
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