We are unique individuals. Shaped and formed from birth order to the name we carry, our ethnicity, culture, and those weird personality traits that no one has as we do.
Unique! How do you sneak up on a “uni”? Why uniquely, of course. (Thanks, VRG!)
I paused and considered my heritage. It’s not just the name “Gurley,” but it also includes predecessor names that go back hundreds of years, thousands of generations. Ancestry DNA tells me that 100% of my history comes from a relatively small portion of Europe.
What’s missing? That’s my question this morning.
Of course, this popular ancestry testing and reporting system may be missing some important data – so I don’t take it as 100% accurate. That being said, what it shows is something that feels connected to who I think I am.
First. If all of humanity began closer to the equator, then why does my DNA not reflect this history of that past?
Second. The stories of having American Indian tribes as part of our story do not bear out to the testing. What’s the next bit of land to the west? Iceland! No wonder I love the cold! Embedded in my DNA? The UK, Denmark, and Sweden. Time for a trip, I say.
Third. What can I do, and what can I change to make my life a better result?
Regardless, I’m Me
David begins the 139th Psalms with a declaration: You have searched me and known me! God knows me! My predilections as well as what’s lacking. Nothing he puts in front of me contains an iota of challenge that I cannot handle. It’s from challenges that we learn more about ourselves, and from failures, we learn if we are the “get up and fight” or the “lay there and take it” type of person.
But look at what David says a few verses later:
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
(Psalms 139:14 NKJV)
Look at some keywords. Fearfully indicates our absolute lack of understanding of how we were made! Wonderfully is simply amazing! Marvelous shows God excelled!
I don’t know how, but I know it’s amazing! God outdid himself!
(My tongue-in-cheek translation!)
When we sum our life up in a tidy presentation at some headstone down the road of life, don’t forget to stand amazed at what you have been able to accomplish. I refuse to blame God for my inability to become. That’s my fault all day long! As with David, I’m simply going to give God some praise!
It’s amazing what praising can do! Hallelujah!
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: When we sum our life up in a tidy presentation at some headstone down the road of life, don't forget to stand amazed at what you have been able to accomplish. Share on X