You are special. You are worth celebrating. Sometimes, as Jesus followers, we forget that simple truth. We often focus on God’s act of saving us, redeeming us, forgiving us, and we forget to celebrate that God created us. And the beautiful truth is that he created you uniquely. There is no one exactly like you. And you are wonderful. Your gifts, talents, and personality are wonderful. Your quirks and blemishes are wonderful. Your passions, desires, and successes are wonderful. The Psalmist says it this way:

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. —Psalm 139:13-14

We can praise God because he made us the way we are. We can praise God because we recognize the worth of our own identity and uniqueness, and those things come from our Lord. We can praise God because we trust that he created us, knows us, and love us — warts and all.

Growth Challenge

Spend time doing something that you love to do and brings you joy. It should be something that makes you feel like you are “being yourself.” As you do this activity, be intentional to thank God for making you the way you are. Thank God for your talents and for your experiences. Thank God for the joy you have in doing that activity.

This activity can be a wide range of things: cooking, creating art, doing a sporting activity, or sitting in a favorite reflection spot. You can go fishing, exercise, or read a book. The activity doesn’t matter. What matters is that you celebrate your own uniqueness and express gratitude to the Lord while you do it.