Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. A new day to rise and rest in who you are in Christ.

My son recently started to raise insects. He has an array of them from chocolate millipedes to a tail-less scorpion, but he has a special species that is close to his heart. His mantises. He has two types of mantises and also an egg case of mantises that he is hoping will hatch soon.

These mantises bring him great joy. He feeds them, holds them, watches carefully as they molt, and gets excited as they grow.

He loves them. What would seem like a pesky insect to some, is a creature of great value to my son.

Two weeks ago, these precious critters were left in my care while he went to Minnesota. And… when I went into his room, I found one small cage on the floor, open, and the mantis missing. My heart dropped. He was going to be crushed. I got a flashlight and spent nearly three hours searching for his beloved bug. I looked under the bed, in every corner of his room, behind furniture, the closet, the baseboards, everywhere.

I had to call him and tell him about his missing mantis and he was just as sad as I had thought he would be. It didn’t matter in that moment that he had other insects. It didn’t matter that I could order another one. What mattered is that THAT bug was gone. That particular insect had value and was important to him. He had anticipated it’s arrival, watched it grow, held it, and loved it. He calls them his babies.

The bug had value because it was so loved. What someone else may name a nuisance, a bother, something to be exterminated, my son treasured as precious.

It didn’t matter what anyone else thought, this bug was elevated from “bug” status to “pet” status with privileges of a much loved family pet and he was mourned when he was gone.

Friends, this got me thinking about Jesus! And how precious and valuable YOU are to Him. It doesn’t matter how many people have been born into the earth, there is only ONE you!

Of all the people who have ever lived, who currently live, and who will live in the future, God chose YOU. He chose you to be born in this very time period for this very moment with all your precious features. He lovingly handcrafted you in your mother’s womb, and He rejoices over you!

You are so precious and so so valuable to the Lord. It can be hard for our human mind to grasp the depth of the love the Lord, our God has for us.

Scripture is so crystal clear about how far reaching and extensive the Lord’s love is for us.

Scriptures teach us His love through creation of man where God forms every other created thing with a spoken word.

Oh but not man, God pauses. He’s got great plans for man. He’s got a creation that will top all the others. He’s got a creation that will be like Him, in His very image just like a son or a daughter resembles their parent.

And then after creation, the Bible is filled cover to cover with redemption stories and moments where God comes down and visits with His people, and then the ultimate act of love! He becomes a human Himself to get even closer to His beloved people.

And why? Because you are His beloved.

You are valuable to the Lord.. A treasure to Him.

Nothing in all the earth can separate you from His love.

And this scripture gets me every time, the Lord is so in love with you, yes YOU, that He is rejoicing over you with joy! He is singing songs of love over you and cheering you on as a mother or father looks at their child in love and wants the very best for them.

That same love that causes a mama or daddy to just stare into their newborn’s eyes in love is just a sampling of the love that the Lord has for YOU!

You are valuable, worthy, important, and oh so loved.

You are God’s own design and creation and He sings over you today!

Go forth today knowing with total security that the very One who hung the stars and sun and moon CHOSE to also create you!

What makes you so valuable? The love the Lord of the WHOLE universe has for you.

God’s love designed you, God’s love formed you, and God’s love will sustain you.

And Jesus said that when even one of us is lost, He seeks us out and finds us. You are not just one of the crowd. You are seen and known by God and when you go astray or when you are in pain, He will seek you out and redeem you.

No matter what the world says about you, no matter the titles, the slander, or the lies they try to bombard you with about your identity, God names you valuable and worthy and His own!

Your worth is found in Him who created you and His love is enough to meet every need you have today.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Show us this love. Help us to move from mind knowledge of Your love to actually experiencing Your love. Fill up all the spaces and crevices and cracks that the world has left on our hearts. Remove any lie we have believed about where our worth and value comes from, and instead reveal to us how precious and valuable we are to You. Let us walk boldly in the earth knowing our value rests in Your love alone.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

Blessings and tangible experiences of His Love,

Vanessa Lynn