“We are God’s handiwork”

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Verse Reflections:  Oh I am so glad that God prepared me in advanced to do good works.  It relaxes my soul to know I don’t have to work so hard to prepare myself for His callings or at least I don’t have to worry about being good enough for His calling.  Knowing we are created by God “in Christ Jesus” to do good works lets us know the importance of accepting our imperfections and giving them over to the grace of Jesus.  Our faults just are.  But Jesus gives us the forgiveness to leave our mistakes behind and go forward into good works.  We are so blessed as Christians not to carry the heavy burden of guilt, or self-recrimination.  We can move forward every day with a fresh opportunity to greet the sunshine and know that we are God’s handiwork.  We have been created by the Master.  Knowing that allows me the freedom, the energy to breathe in and make the right choices in foods.  On the days I feel guilt or anxiety or don’t stop to breathe and begin running with my huge task list I do not have the energy to concentrate on choosing the right foods.  Today I am going to breathe in, claim the beauty I have as God’s handiwork.  Knowing I am beautiful in God’s eyes makes me want to protect that beauty.  Today I am going to know that I have been prepared in advanced to do good works.  I believe those good works start with caring for my body.  Today I am going to make God choices.  When I feel great about myself, I can extend my blessings to others and do good works for others.

Prayer:  Father, I love You so much.  I thank You for making me Your handiwork.  That is a beautiful thought.  I think of Mom spending hours at the sewing machine, making us clothing, her handiwork.  The image of You creating me with the same time and care humbles me but makes me feel so valuable knowing you invested Your love in me.  Father, knowing that, how can I choose to put crap into my body that will not honor Your creation.  I think that would be like putting on a new outfit Mom made for me and then rolling in the mud.  When I put crap in my body, it is like filling my body with dirt, making my organs work hard to metabolize it and evacuate it.  Today I am going to wear my handiwork with pride and I am going to eat beautiful foods that will make the colors more vibrant.  Give me the strength to make these choices with pride without pausing.  Thank You for loving me, and patiently sewing me together.