Worth a Thousand Words

I had a lovely dinner this weekend at a restaurant that I had never visited before. It had an interesting decor to it, trying to be family style and trendy all at the same time. One of the things that stuck out to me, however, was a wall that they had in the back of the restaurant that was completely covered with old photographs very similar to this one. There were probably 50 pictures of various sizes each featuring a different portrait of men and woman of differing ages and colors and shapes making quite a unique wall hanging to the already eccentric restaurant.

What first struck me as a novel choice of decor, however, immediately resonated with my spirit as something far more than simply a wall garnish. I realized that these were not just photographs, but that each one represented a real person, an actual one-of-a-kind human being that lived and worked and dreamed and eventually passed from this world. What was their story? What did they want to be when they grew up? Did they ever expect to be memorialized one day on the wall of a restaurant?

I was reminded once again about the profound nature of the God we serve. To Him, they were not just pictures, but each one was His masterpiece, His creation fashioned in His image to which He knows the intimate, detailed answers to each one of my questions. What's more, this same God knows me and loves me and thinks about me all the time (Ps. 139:18), bringing about an overwhelming sense of humble confidence. Humility because I know that I don't deserve it and I can't believe someone so indescribably wonderful would feel that way about me. And confidence because if He feels that way about me, then I should not allow my silly insecurities to drive my behavior because the God of the universe loves me!!!

I pray that God would give me His perspective on my story and how it is so closely connected to the portraits of countless others on the wall of history. May the legacy of my life bring glory to Him in a way that drives others to see the Bigness of our Father and inspire them with a sense of humble confidence whether they're learning about my story through a friendship, through this blog, or maybe even on the wall of a restaurant someday. :-)