Fingerprints of God

Wess Stafford, President of Compassion International, wrote this article, We Are His Hands.

A few things caught my eye:
I was visiting a church in Indonesia that partners with Compassion. ... The pastor asked me to speak to the children. I longed for each child to grasp God's love. A shy 6-year-old girl named Jessica sat cross-legged in the front row in a pink dress. I picked her out of the crowd of children as an object lesson and she let me hold her. I took her delicate hand in mine and asked the children, "Do you know Jessica has little designs on her fingertips? So do you. Look closely at your fingers and you will see the fingerprints God made only for you. Nobody else has the same ones."

I paused as the children giggled and squinted at their fingers and those of their friends. "Did you know, I continued, Jesus loves Jessica so much He would have died on the cross for her if she were the only person on earth?"

The children grew quiet and looked at Jessica in a new light. She wrapped her arms around my neck and nestled closer. She was so still and comfortable I kept holding her while I told the children that, just like Jessica, each one of them is unique and precious to God, to their parents, to their pastor and to their child development center workers. As I acknowledged the center workers with a nod, I was surprised to see tears in their eyes. When I finished speaking I thanked Jessica and gently sat her down. The room was silent. Compassion's Vice President for Asia squeezed my hand and whispered, "You couldn't have known, but if ever a little girl needed to be loved and affirmed it was Jessica."

Just a few months previously that 6-year-old angel was brutally raped by a man in the village. The Indonesian pastor was amazed fragile Jessica had so willingly snuggled into my arms that day since I am a man who was a stranger to her. I can only think God caused her to sense the mystery that He was hugging her tenderly through my arms and proclaiming His profound love especially for her through my words."


And this song by Stephen Curtis Chapman (parts of it):

Fingerprints of God
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God
Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand
And perfectly planned
To be just who you are

And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living breathing priceless work of art and...

Just look at you
You're a wonder in the making
Oh and God's not through no
In fact, He's just getting started and...

How special and unique you are! No one is like you! He loves you as you are! He is there to comfort you, hold you, and to love you through everything, good and bad.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. (Ephesians 3:18)
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. (1John 4:9)
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
...for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU..." (Hebrews 13:5)

Thank You, Lord, for how you created each one of us so unique and different from each other. We are all so special and so loved by You. Thank You for how much you care about us, the big and the small things that affect our lives. Forgive me when I take You for granted - You, who are always by my side. How can I ignore You? You show me Your love everyday - help me not miss it. I hold onto Your hand - take me where You want me. Lead me in Your way. Thank You, Father, for providing all my needs...and then some.

Step By Step (w/ I Love You, Lord)
Rich Mullins

O God, you are my God and I will ever praise you
O God you are my God and I will ever praise you
and I will seek you in the morning
and I will learn to walk in your ways
and step by step you lead me
and i will follow you all of my days.

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
to worship you O my soul, rejoice
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
Let it be a sweet sweet sound in your ear.