This Christmas season, I’ve been loving DIY projects. They allow you to spread your creative wings a bit and go for a flight. They’re personal because you can customize various aspects of the project to fit likings and personalities. They’re also just fun to do in general! As I was working on one particular project with my mother, a thought came to my mind: DIY projects are sort’ve like God making us. Each and every human being was and is a DIY project of God’s very own. He is our creator. He has fastened us together. Most of all, He admires and loves His creations very much.

I’ve been struggling with this truth a lot. I know that God loves me. I know He sees me as worthy of redemption. I know He wants a relationship with me. I know He’s always with me. There is a difference between knowing something and believing it though. As much as I know the realities of who God is and what He wants for me, I feel unworthy of His gifts and love. Doing it myself may just have a lesson for me though. Upon successfully completing a DIY project, I can’t help but take some pride in the work of my hands. As I was admiring Mom and I’s finished project, and the progress of another, I realized that this admiration magnified many times over is how God feels when looking down at me. That hit me pretty hard.

He’s proud to call me His. He’s pleased with His work. He did not overlook any details, and He made no mistakes. When I think about how excited I can get over a completed DIY project, and realize that God feels similarly, but much more strongly, about me, it brings it a little bit closer to home. It makes the truth easier for my mind to accept because it can relate to it. My mind understands the satisfaction it experiences as a result of the work of the hands it commands. It understands the admiration it feels for the projects completed under its guidance. It gets the pride that comes from seeing others enjoy the finished work as well. And as a result, it can understand God’s affection for us a little bit more.

There may not be the same relationship between the creator and the creation in these two instances. The affection felt may not be even close to the same magnitude. And a small understanding may still not mean believing. It’s a step in the right direction though. Who would’ve know that a DIY project could teach you all of that? The Lord never fails to amaze me with the creative ways he comes up with to teach me little lessons along the way. My Creator loves me, His creation, and however difficult that is for me to accept, it holds true. Just as every DIY project is one of a kind, so am I.