What he’s been creating, since the first beat of your heart,
is a living, breathing, priceless work of art.

    (Steven Curtis Chapman, Speechless)

    Open any women’s magazine and you’re sure to see thin, beautiful, fashionably dressed models on nearly every page. Their hair is perfect. Their hips are slim. Their makeup is flawless. And, unless you’re Cindy Crawford, you think, “I wish I could look like that!”

    Apparently that’s what thirteen-year-old Emily Chapman was thinking one afternoon as she leafed through some magazines. Scanning the pages, she felt less than perfect, less than gorgeous. She could see that she didn’t look like any of the women in the pictures, and she began to cry.

    Fortunately, Emily has parents who love her and love God, and they were there that day to dry her tears. Her dad wanted to offer some advice, but he held back. “I was thirteen once,” he admits, “but I was never a thirteen-year-old girl, so I can’t fully understand all she’s going through. Instead,” he says, “her mom and I just sat down with her and agreed that life wasn’t fair, and we just cried together.”

    That might have been all that came of that rough afternoon for Emily. But, Emily’s dad has a special way with words and music. In fact, he’s Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman. Chapman wanted to give Emily more than just a hug, and he wanted to communicate his love and God’s love without sounding like a preachy dad. So he did what he does best — he wrote a song.

    He remembers, “I wanted to say to her somehow, ‘Emily, you re a precious treasure. God created you just like you are, to look exactly like you do, and you are precious to Him and precious to us. I don’t know what you see when you look in the mirror that you don’t like, but what I see is God’s fingerprints all over you.”

    And that’s how “Fingerprints of God” was written. Reflect on the chorus to this song:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it’s true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you’re covered with the fingerprints of God.

    There’s so much truth in these words, and so much that’s universal about Emily’s situation. We all experience the same feelings. Perhaps, like Emily, we simply don’t feel pretty enough. Or maybe we don’t feel smart or popular or godly or useful. We don’t seem to measure up to the standards of the world, our families, or our friends. Worse, we don’t measure up to our own standards either.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)

    Read again the words of the song. Then read Psalm 139:13. God’s fingerprints are all over you. He made you to be just who you are. He formed you. He put that nose on your face, that brain in your head, that laugh in your throat, that tear in your eye.

    The question is, how will you respond to what God has created? Will you tell God that he made a mistake, that his creation isn’t good enough? Will you throw a pity party? Or will you say, “This is what God gave me. This is what he made me to be. His touch is obviously on my life, and I’m going to let that touch pass on from me to others!”

    I know. Setting aside our insecurities and fears and trusting that God has a purpose in making us who we are is a tough thing to do — tough, but not impossible.

    My youngest sister, Annette, was born with a mental disability. She will never drive a car, own a business, or balance her own bank account. She needs daily help with her personal grooming. She must rely on others for assistance in many aspects of life. Anyone would understand if Annette was despondent, brooding over all the things she’ll never do in life. No one would blame her for looking in the mirror and thinking, “God must have passed me by.”

    Yet, amazingly enough, Annette is the most cheerful person you wi11 ever meet ask anyone who knows her. Adults and children alike love to be around her because of her sweet spirit. She has a quick laugh. She’s a faithful friend. She has a tender and compassionate heart. She is generous with all she has.

    Annette looks in the mirror and thinks, “God has a purpose for me. God made me for a reason. I’ve got to get out there and do what I’m supposed to do!”

    What’s holding you back? What do you see in the mirror or reflected in your heart that makes you think God has passed you by? Stop dwelling on the negatives! Instead, start praising God for the special fingerprints he’s left on you. (Hopefully you’ve begun to discover what some of those are as you’ve gone through the chapters in this section.) Get out there and do what you’re supposed to do!

    God made you the way you are on purpose — and that’s just the way he loves you. Why would you want to be any other way?

    Father of Creation, you made me in your image to fulfill your purposes. Open my eyes to see how you’ve touched me and how you can use me — just the way I am.

 

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© From her book, "A Woman's Touch: The Fingerprints Left Behind" © 2001, Howard Publishing Company. Used by permission. This article cannot be reprinted in another publication without written permission of the publisher. Click here to buy this title online!

Title: "God's Fingerprints"
Author: Amy Nappa
Publication Date: March 11, 2003