Soft peach, fire orange, hot pink, bright yellow, deep violet, and calm gray. These are painted in thin strips and large blocks of blending hues across the sky – a glorious feast to my eyes. Bundles of cumulous clouds hold the last embers of light as I witness another day ending. In my 48 years on earth, I have seen countless numbers of them and am continually amazed that no two have been exactly the same. They never are. The shades, patterns, and placement of color is always different in addition to the balance between the sun’s height and the accompanying atmospheric conditions which change the optical effects from day to day and moment by moment. Occurring every 24 hours, millions of variations to the presentation of the sunset have been seen and captured by admirers on film, and each is an original work of art to marvel at.
The same is true of you and me - but on a much larger scale. We are more beautiful, unique, and creatively complex than any sunset. The crown of God’s creation, we are made in His image and woven together by His hand. Psalm 139:13-16 reads:
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place - woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Years ago, I heard a gifted pastor sum these thoughts up with this sentence: ‘God chose you and me to be His before the world began.” How inspiring! Words darted around my mind shouting to be etched in pen, so I scribbled them down on the worship bulletin.
Before I was conceived in my mother’s womb.
Before I lived and breathed, I belonged to You.
Before the earth was laid, You stretched out Your hand.
You made me Your lamb before the world began.
Those phrases became the song *Before the World Began”, found on my first album in 1995. (Hear it @ wendysue.com)
One final thought to chew on: ‘God never started loving us - He just always did.’ Whoa. Kind of unimaginable, isn't it? You and I can know with certainty that we were crafted and designed with love, care and great forethought, and that we are treasured and valued by our Creator. No one has ever been exactly like us, nor will anyone ever be.
We are each truly individuals - one of a kind - and oh, so much grander than the grandest of sunsets!