Perfectly Suited

Bible Reading: Psalms 138:8; 139:1-6

"I wish I was good at sports," complained Quinn. "I was playing kickball with the neighbor kids and totally missed the ball when it was my turn to kick…twice! I'm so uncoordinated. I think God messed up when he made me."

Mom sat down beside Quinn on the porch swing. "Honey, God never makes mistakes, and you know your value isn't based on how well you can kick a ball--it's based on God creating you in His image and Jesus dying to forgive your sins and make you God's child. But I know it can be frustrating when we feel like we aren't as smart, attractive, or athletic as our friends."

Quinn sighed. "I don't have to be good at everything. I just want to have a little bit of athletic talent--like being able to dribble a basketball without it hitting my foot."

"You are good at a lot of other things though," Mom said. "You really have a gift for understanding scientific concepts. You can explain body systems with such great detail and accuracy. I don't know many ten-year-olds who can draw a diagram of the heart from memory!"

"I just like learning about that stuff, Mom!" said Quinn. "None of my friends really care about that anyhow."

"Maybe not yet, anyway," replied Mom. "I'm reading a book about Gladys Aylward, an English missionary to China in the 1930s and 1940s. When she was a teenager working as a maid, she wondered why she was so short--less than five feet tall--and had black hair and dark eyes when it seemed like everyone around her was taller with blond hair and blue eyes. However, when God called Gladys to be a missionary to China years later, she realized her looks helped her fit in with the people she would be ministering to. God had made her perfectly suited to spread the good news to the Chinese people at that time. Remember, Quinn, that God has made you perfectly suited for the plan He has for your life too."

"Wow, that's a neat story, Mom," said Quinn. "So instead of wishing I was different, maybe I should start looking for ways God can use me just like I am."

Mom smiled. "Exactly!"

-Kendra Angle