Fearfully and wonderfully made

It is not a secret.  I like words.  Actually that's a bit of an understatement.  I love words.  Whether they are on a page, a computer screen or if I hear them -- I just enjoy words.

 

A James Michner quote hangs behind my desk - "I love the swirl and the swing of words as that tangle with human emotions".

 

Tangle with human emotions - hum.

 

I was raised in a Bible church.  That means that we believed the Bible, practiced what it said and actually memorized some of the words, verses and even chapters.

One verse I'll always remember is Psalm 119:11.  "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."  Or as it reads in The Message:  "I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt".

Is memorization the best way to learn?  If one knows that words - but not how to apply them to life - is that helpful? 

When the Von Trapp children were learning to sing and knew all about the scale and the do, re, mi's, one of them told Maria that "doesn't mean anything". 

So - just because I know the words - I also have to know how to put them into practice.  Many times in my life those words that I memorized as a child have been brought to mind when I needed encouragement or yes, even sometimes, discipline.

 

I gave my children the same opportunity that I had had as a child.  They went to church and Sunday School, youth camps and mission trips and they were taught the value of learning Scripture.

When I visited in my daughter, Renee's home recently, I saw once again the many places where a Bible verse has been placed for family members to read, appreciate and apply in their own lives.

 

Some familiar words had been written on the shower door in my granddaughters' bathroom. "I am fearfully and wonderfully made. . .(Psalm 139:14).

 

I thought what a great place for those words . . .especially for we females who constantly battle with self-esteem.  I don't like that but I believe it to be true and when we are totally vulnerable as when we are going to take a shower...how much more! 

 

Self esteem issues, being vulnerable - human emotions.

 

With words from Scripture to help us deal with them.

 

Continuing to reflect on what I read and my reactions I checked out what The Message says -

"You know me inside and out,  you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,  how I was sculpted from nothing into something."

And I though how good it is to know that even though I may not always like what I see - I really am "something"!  It's like that old cliché "God don't make no junk"!

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