You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. PSALM 139:13-14 NLT 

Sometimes it can be tempting to look at ourselves and be critical of what God has made. (Amen? I know it’s not just me.) Really, God, with the ADHD? And why would you make me with limited vision? What exactly were you thinking with these hips? And the anxiety? Really, God? 

The psalmist is convinced that God is the One who made us, and I’m going to believe that an intentional God had a purpose when He made me. And when He made you.  I don’t pretend to understand God’s intentions, but if I use my prayerful imagination,  I can perhaps begin to explore what God might possibly have had in mind. For example, I’ve heard that folks who aren’t neurotypical, or have other types of physical or emotional challenges, can have a tender heart for those who face their own challenges. I’m not going to pretend to know why some folks struggle with anxiety or depression, but I do know that God is very present to those who know they need Him. 

Your one-of-a-kind design by God likely includes some incredible gifts and passions, and it also may include some challenges. And I’m confident that God can use those challenges for your good and for the good of others. Ask God to show you how. 

Consider the ways in which you have been critical of how God made you. Then, one by one, offer those to God and ask God how He sees each one. 

God, I believe that You are the One who made me, on purpose. Give me Your vision for the parts of myself I don’t yet love, and show me what You have in mind for me. Amen.