Wonderfully Made
By Dawn Weimar
“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...”
Psalm 139:13-14
“We have different gifts according to the grace given us.”
Romans 12:6
When I was 19, my father looked on as my future husband tore my car engine apart. Every day, my dad came out and viewed the mayhem, but never voiced the doubts that entered his mind. Much to his surprise, my car was fixed and ran for many more years. By Dawn Weimar
“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...”
Psalm 139:13-14
“We have different gifts according to the grace given us.”
Romans 12:6
My mother-in-law informed me that my husband’s first word was “car.” Seriously. He dabbled in sports, but hung out with “gear heads” in high school. And at 16 years of age, he bought and paid for his first car. During my first visit to the drag races, he taught me that the smell of nitromethane is the sweetest perfume when mixed with bleach and burning tires. The roar of engines is a precise symphony of cylinders whose performance is recognized only by a trained ear. The attraction is to witness a machine pushed to the limits by its maker to see how much power under pressure it could endure. And when it broke, its further attraction is to watch a skilled mechanic pull that beloved car apart and remake it in record time for the next run.
I recognized that this man loved me when he taught me to drive stick shift in his beloved car. His voice restrained, but patient, when I ground the gears. He knows makes and models and loves to watch the car auctions; in contrast, I remain clueless. For enjoyment, he doesn’t read fiction, oh no, he prefers owner’s manuals…and I am not taking about the one in your glove box. Now, he oversees service and body shops for three dealerships ensuring that customers’ cars run well and without little rattling noises that drive him crazy.
God created this man for this work just as he has created you perfectly for your work. Perhaps your calling is not quite so clear. Ask God; you’ll find it. Perhaps, your calling is unusual, geeky, not well respected or popular…embrace it anyway. Perhaps, you have a combination of gifts that uniquely prepares you to be you…be content with yourself. Thank God for the uniqueness in you and others around you. You have a job to do that only you can do. Don’t bring yourself down because of the gifts you wish you had. Seize your opportunity!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Ask God to help you recognize the gifts and talents that he has given you, your children, and others. Encourage and nurture those gifts.
FURTHER READING: Psalm 139; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 25:14-30; Jeremiah 18:1-6; Romans 9:19-21
Dawn is a wife and mother of three daughters, and is active in Oakwood's worship ministries. She's a pediatric nurse, currently working as VP of Business Development in Population Health Improvement.
