Acknowledging Every Good Thing

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 6

Being a redhead--I mean a natural redhead--is a very unique thing. it requires a certain kind of personality that in-a-box redheads don't have. Different doctors have told me that being a redhead means I'll have certain "differences" from those with brown or even blond hair. For example, I have very fair skin and pretty much need to bathe in sunscreen before going outside. I have more sensitivities to medication, lower tolerance to pain, and for surgery, need more anesthesia.

More unique than just being a redhead is that I also have hazel eyes. Growing up, there were very few dolls or cartoon characters that had red hair and green eyes. The Little Mermaid has blue eyes, as did most of the dolls we would see. It almost became a game to my mom; she would buy any doll she would see that had red hair and green eyes. Having red hair and hazel eyes, I was even different from my immediate family. Neither set of grandparents, or my parents, or my brother have red hair and hazel eyes. A couple of them have blue and the rest have brown.

There were many times as a child that I didn't want to have red hair, mostly because kids will tease what's different. My mom will tell you that her perception of "red hair" was more like a bright orange. So, the entire time she was pregnant, she prayed that I would not have red hair. I guess God had other plans. Because I was a last-minute C-section, my mom didn't get to see me right away. She said the doctors first told her that I had red hair. But she said when she saw me, she thought I was the most beautiful baby. She said I was like a little doll.

Do you ever just giggle when you look back over a thing and realize that God was there and it was His plan the whole time? I giggle more when I realize all my fretting and "chasing my tail" didn't do me one ounce of good. All the prayers that my mom lifted up to God weren't according to His perfect plan so God gave me red hair anyway. The verse in Philemon 6 says that every good thing that is in me is for Christ's sake. For His purposes, I was born the way that I am. For His plans, I was given the gift of writing...which I always say, but really believe is something written by God and written down by me. For His desires, I was designed this way. Psalm 139:13 says, You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Everything about me, whether I currently like that part of me or not, God knew that it needed to be there, and so shaped me in such a way--knit me together--so that when He was finished, that thing that He desired, the part that He created would be a part of me. For Christ, I was designed; by God, I was made. Thank you, God, for every part of me. For every good part comes from You.