God's Dream of YOu

Image by Felix on Unsplash

God dreamed of you. He dreamed of your laugh, your eyes, the way you would smile or even talk. He dreamed of every piece of who you are. He dreamed of you and desired you to be made.

For those of you who don’t know me or haven’t seen me in person, I am a natural redhead. I know, I know—there are many jokes to be made about redheads. Usually, they fall into two categories: the nerds or the ones with anger issues. Let’s just say I don’t think I belong in either category.

Being a redhead comes with some challenges. For starters, we burn like crazy in the sun, so summer is not the greatest season for us. Another challenge is if (or when) you need anesthesia. Redheads, for some odd reason, have a higher tolerance to anesthesia and therefore require increased doses.

But there are also a lot of amazing things about being a redhead. For one, redheads are least likely to go gray when we get older—which I personally find very pleasing. Another fun fact: to make up for our sensitivity to the sun, redheads naturally produce more vitamin D. Overall, being a redhead is exciting and fun!

You may be asking why I gave you a rundown about redheads. For me, growing up, my red hair was something I loved—but it was also a source of insecurity. There was a moment in my childhood when a man came up to me and poured water on my head. He told me I wasn’t beautiful. I often questioned my hair and whether or not it was beautiful, and that led me to believe that maybe I wasn’t beautiful.

I began to compare myself to others. As I went to school, I not only struggled with how I looked but also with who I was. One year, I had an especially difficult time with a classmate. This classmate told me to hang myself, that I wasn’t deserving of life, that I should die because no one needed or wanted me. She would threaten me constantly and say extremely harsh and unkind things. During that time, I questioned my worth more than ever. That was just the starting point of me questioning the pieces that make me “Lydia”.

I believe many of you reading this—and truly, people all over the world—have had moments like these. Maybe you're in this thought process right now:

Am I beautiful? Is how I am made on the outside as important as how I was made on the inside?

The answer to the first question is simply, “yes”. You are beautiful. God dreamed of every single piece and detail of who you are. You are unique, deeply loved, and desired by God.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” — Psalms 139:14 (NIV)

But not only did God dream of you—He made you in His likeness. It says that we bear the image of God:

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” — Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

You and I were chosen to be the image bearers of God. Not zebras, not cows, not any fish in the sea or birds in the sky. When we are called image bearers of God, it’s not in our physical appearance, it’s referring to our souls. Our compassion, desire for love, the ability to create and think intellectually etc. We are to bear God’s spiritual image but how he made us on the outside is  a gift for us now. Our bodies are gifts from God to live out our time here on earth until we can live with him in heaven one day.

God sees such value and importance in you. Again, not just in how he physically made you but in how you made you spiritually.  In Jeremiah, it says:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” — Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)

Before He formed you, He knew you. He dreamed of you. This means you were made in his image before you even had an external image. He sees you as precious in His sight—uniquely made for the purposes and plans over your life.

If you are someone right now struggling to know your beauty in Christ or to understand your value, contact me. I would love to talk more with you about this.