You are claimed as a child of God

One of my closest friends, Priya, has tan lines on her feet in the pattern of her sandal straps from wearing her Chaco sandals in the sun all summer. When I mentioned to her how cool that is, she smiled a sheepish and somewhat mischievous grin and said, "Yeah, I know, I feel pretty cool."

Priya conceding that this small detail about herself is something in which she takes pride was a moment that made me realize it's OK to be proud of qualities about me that I think are cool. It's not being prideful; it's acknowledging I have unique gifts to offer the world and stepping into them. It's an act of humility, realizing that everything I have -- everything I am -- has been given to me as a free gift by my loving God who delights in his creation of me and who made me good. It's an act of humility to accept these gifts and claim them to use for God's glory. Acknowledging that maybe God did a pretty great job when he made me frees me from feeling as if I need to try in order to be worthy. It challenges me to share more of myself with others.

I recently came across a line in a meditation by Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty that sent me searching frantically for a pen to write it down. She says, "God touched you and he created you. You passed through his mind and you were begotten."

Whoa. We passed through God's mind and were begotten. God thought of us. His thought created who we are, all the intricacies and contradictions, all the quirks and things unique to our personality that we take for granted. The essence of who we are, God wanted and enjoyed bringing into existence.

This quote made me think about the delight I take in writing something or in creating a photograph. I dream about it and let my thoughts simmer inside me, enjoying thinking about the possibilities. I take great care in the details, in making each part of the whole something of beauty. I spend time creating it, and it means so much to me because it is a part of myself, a part of the story I need to tell and give to the world to show it another aspect of God. In ways that are much higher than mine, this must be how God feels when he creates us.

I've been asking God to help me see myself the way he sees me when he looks at me with his eyes of a gentle, loving father, as a best friend who's always on my side, and as a lover who is intrigued by every part of me. Living in the grace that allows me to see myself the way God sees me is transforming my outlook about what I'm capable of and what he might be calling me to do -- more than I ever would ask of myself.

Acknowledge that God has placed a light in you, that you manifest him to the world in a way only you can. You are a child of God. Claim it.

Mia Pohlman is a Perryville, Mo., native studying at Truman State University. She loves performing, God and the color purple -- not necessarily in that order.