The Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17
In the children’s book (and big person’s book) Twirl by Emily Lex, little Audrey absolutely loves to twirl. She twirls all day every day as much as she can. One day she takes a walk into the meadow and meets up with various creatures who are also twirling. As she visits each one of them, she tries to twirl like they do…
· When she tries to swirl like the duck who “swirls and whirls and dips and bobs” in the water she falls right into the water.
· When she comes upon the butterfly “flitting and flapping and gliding” she tries it to and falls again.
· When she sees the bunny “hopping and flipping and tumbling” she tries again and lands in “a dizzy heap”.
Finally, she just sits under a tree and decides to stop twirling. When the animals come to her to ask her why she has stopped twirling she says that she has decided that twirling is not for her because she can’t twirl as beautifully as the little animals in the meadow.
But the duck, butterfly, and bunny reply: “Your loop de loop leaps and tippy-toed turns are perfectly and wonderfully made! God loves you and creates you with your own special twirl. You are exactly as he wants you to be.”
Haven’t we all felt like Audrey? Comparing ourselves to others, wanting what other people have, trying to be something or someone we aren’t? Never feeling quite good enough to the point that we just withdraw?
We need to remember, children and adults alike that God loves each one of us and each one of us is beautifully and wonderfully made. Your uniqueness is a blessing, never forget that. Especially in today’s world, remembering to honor each other’s uniqueness, gifts and talents is paramount to being a child of God.
Remember, just twirl the way you twirl.