I have made the earth and created man on it….Isaiah 45:12

A number of years ago, on one of our jaunts, I can’t recall where, Ken spied a piece of pottery that really caught his eye. It was brown, which met one of his criteria for selection, making it not overtly feminine. But the thing that really grabbed him was the unique design. It looks as if the potter has created a perfect vase up to the neck, but then it begins to appear that the clay collapsed upon itself. I’ve seen that happen to works in progress, and the potter simply folds it over, reworks the clay, and starts from scratch again.

However, I believe this potter intentionally chose to create an object which gave the illusion of a perfect pot that morphed into a piece of great interest because of its very unique form. And I’m no potter, but I believe it took some skill to create the look that he or she chose to pursue.

As much as Ken liked the pot, I found it lacking. It sat in a fairly prominent place for some time and eventually found its way into his collection of vintage tools and other guy things. We were preparing for a garage sale this past week when he “discovered” it all over again. He came in from the garage, all excited about a piece of pottery hiding in the corner of a cabinet with his tools. I quickly reminded him of the first time he discovered it, and then he wandered over to his chair to examine it more closely. When the light from his lamp fell on it, I really saw that vase for the first time, and it became a lovely object in just the right light.

I instantly witnessed a correlation between that vase and God’s children. We all start from a master plan, perfectly shaped, everything alike. Then the ultimate creator adds the special touches that give each of us our individuality. We come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. There are brown eyes, blue eyes, and lots of variations in between. Some have dark hair, some have light hair, some have curly hair, and some have straight locks. Some are thin and some are stocky. And no matter which collection of traits we are born with, we inevitably wish for just the opposite.

Sometimes God chooses to make a few extra alterations to the basic blueprint. A part, visible or invisible, is missing, or an extra is attached. Sometimes his masterpiece arrives with a deficiency that appears sad to those who have all their parts and everything works according to the original design. But here’s the special part. We’re all God’s special kids, each with a unique path that was charted before we were ever physically conceived. We need to open our eyes to the possibilities where we often see challenges.

The next time you start wondering why God allows “seemingly bad” things to happen, just remember, every child of His, no matter how young or old, whether with all their parts or missing some, whether a genius or someone who struggles to learn, even whether they agree with you or don’t, no matter what, He loves each one and created each and every one for a special purpose. God doesn’t make mistakes, and he certainly doesn’t make junk.

He makes each of us in His own image. And just like that, the vase now looks perfect to me and is displayed in our home as a reminder that “different” has its own special beauty; it also reminds me that we’re all perfect in His eyes, even with, or maybe because of, our unique imperfections. He loves and sees beauty in all of His perfectly imperfect kids! And so should we!

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! I John 3:1