What does it mean to be God's MASTERPIECE?

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

     Tonight, I got to see my first sunset on the beach water in a very long time, and as you can see it was BEAUTIFUL. The orange-yellow glow along the horizon, the sound of the waves crashing in the deep blue water, and the soft, white sand between my feet as I watch the sun go down moment by moment. Of course, that is what stands out most in this picture as far as beauty goes. However, as I sat there watching, the only thing I could think about was how to the Lord, the thing in the picture that stands out is not the nature, but the person in the picture, the simple guy fishing. Us as humans, or specifically YOU, are far greater to Him than even the most colorful sunset, the clearest water, the tallest snow-capped mountain, or the whitest sand. He desires a relationship with us who, in comparison to the the other things He created, are extremely flawed and minuscule, but it doesn't matter.

We are what He loves.

We are the most special.

We are His MASTERPIECE. 

    Me trying to wrap my tiny mind around that truth is impossible, I am a person with a very small comfort zone, very little self-confidence, small view of my self-worth, a person that fears change unless I am in control of it, a person that worries over all things, and sometimes watching the creations of nature, even something as small as a honeybee landing on a flower, just makes me feel even smaller and less of a masterpiece. 

    BUT JESUS. He really does see me in my tiny, fragile state as something so much bigger. He sees each of us that way. In fact, at the few moments where I can actually see that concept a little better, it is crazy to think that I ever even spend a second of my time thinking I'm not good enough or worrying about if God really does know my heart and know what I need because, I mean, if you look at the sun, and then remember how YOU ARE HIS MASTERPIECE, how can we really ever think it's best if we were in control, or think you yourself are anything less than WORTHY? 

    It's no secret that my all-time favorite show is Grey's Anatomy (Side note: If you haven't watched it, go to Netflix now and spend the next 2 months enjoying. You're welcome.) I re-watched an old episode the other day, which contains one of my favorite quotes:

"We spend our whole lives worrying about the future, planning for the future, trying to predict the future. As if figuring it out will somehow cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of of our deepest fears, and our wildest hopes. But one thing is certain: When it finally reveals itself, the future is never the way we imagined it.... Just when we think we've figured things out, the universe throws us a curve ball. So we have to improvise. We find happiness in unexpected places. We find our way back to the things that matter the most. The universe is funny that way. Sometimes it just has a way of making sure we wind up exactly where we belong."
~Meredith Grey

    Now this obviously has absolutely nothing to do with being God's masterpiece, but hearing this resonates with me differently. I spend so much time thinking about the future and trying to figure out all my life choices and decisions if one possible thing goes wrong, but 99% of the time it goes completely different than I imagined. It's always unravels the fears in the depths of my heart and brings me to unexpected places. But here's the funny thing about God- because I am His masterpiece, He gives me the gift of constant grace and love and treats me like royalty, so anything I fret over always turns out to be a huge blessing. I could give numerous examples-ask me anytime- of times I thought would be awful, and maybe in the midst they seemed that way, but they ALWAYS turn out to be something where the Lord just proves Himself faithful. 

    So the next time you feel like nothing in the world works and that you're doing all this waiting and praying with no answers, or you feel really worthless, go watch a sunset. Go watch it to see the beauty of it, then look at yourself, because Christ says we are worthy and we are His masterpiece far past the picture of that painted sunset, and that makes all the difference.