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Creation is given.

It is made, created ex nihilo (out of nothing), yes, but it is also given.

In all of its beauty, in all of its glory, in all of its uncertainty, in all of its pain,

it is given.

The givenness of this creation is important.

The air we breathe, the spaces through which we move, the thoughts and emotions in which we dwell,

all of it is a gift.

Even our bodies.

Many of us are adept at seeing the gift of a sunset or a mountain range.

We are not so accomplished at acknowledging the givenness of our bodies.

Our world tells us that if we are not strong enough, thin enough, white enough, then we are not  enough.

And we believe it.

We throw this gift of God back into His lap and tell Him that it is not enough.

We take the variety, creativity, artistry of God and diminish it by believing that it is not enough.

You who were always told that you were too weak

You who were always told that you were too fat

You who were always told that you were too dark, too other

God created you with the same brilliance as He did the stars.

He longs for you to love and care for this body He gave you as much as He longs for you to love and care for the piece of earth on which He placed you.

He desires for you to appreciate the beauty of it as much as you appreciate the beauty of a forest.

Your body is just as given.

More so, perhaps, because no one else was given your exceptional body.

Only you.

It is a gift from the same Artist who crafted the rivers.

When you find yourself listening to the world and feeling that you are not enough,

ask God to remind you of the givenness of your body.

It is a gift.

Art credits: Earth and super nova photographs from NASA; mountain and river photographs from Kirk Sewell; all other photographs copyright Made Sacred 2018