Genesis 1:24-25 – Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (HCSB)

Ecclesiastes 3:11a – He has made everything beautiful in its time. (ESV)

Off and on over the years, I have thought about animals and how unique each one is. For the most part, animals are pleasant to observe. I love seeing the robins hopping around my yard and hearing them sing. Horses are powerful, beautiful animals. Whales and dolphins and seals are intriguing. For the most part, cats and dogs and rabbits are cute and cuddly. Worms and snakes and ants are interesting creatures.

To me, spiders are of a different sort, though. I really don't like them. I don't like looking at them. I don't like being too close to them. The other day, as I was lying on the lawn, reading, one crawled in front of me, a few inches from my face. It was almost a white colour, with long legs. It made me shudder. I flicked it away with my finger and said, "You sure are ugly!" Then I added, "And your mother dresses you funny!" (When we were younger, to tease someone and let them know we did really like them, we would say, "You sure are ugly, and your mother dresses you funny!") I laughed about it when I told this to that "ugly" spider.

Later, I thought seriously about the "ugly" spider. God made it exactly like He wanted it to be. He wanted it to be that colour, that size, that shape. When God created the world, He saw that everything He made was good. He has made everything that there is beautiful.

How about people in this world who are disabled? Or the ones society deems to be ugly? Or the physically deformed? Or the elderly who are wrinkled and worn? How do we see them?

God sees them as beautiful.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You have made heaven and earth. You have made all the animals, the creatures, the sun, the sky, the moon, the trees, the flowers. You have done it all, and You saw at creation that it was good. Sometimes we wonder why people are deformed at birth or some are disabled. We don't understand; we don't know why some families have to endure such hard things; we just don't get it. Yet we can trust that You know all about it. For some reason, these circumstances are in our lives. Maybe it is so that we will learn to trust You more and more each day. Help us, in our frailty, to look to You. Help us to look past the deformities or the disabilities and to look at the real person. Help us to know that everyone and everything is beautiful. Amen.

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About the author:

Judy Miller <gjmiller@telusplanet.net>
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
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