PERFECTLY CREATED
When you hold a precious newborn in your arms, and soak in the moment, doesn’t the miracle of life become so clear? There is that sense that they are straight from heaven… lovingly and perfectly created.
Oh, the changes over time! Living in a world that is so hyper-focused on physical appearance, our identity can get completely tied up in our bodies. As a result, as we age and go through physical changes and challenges, it can really cause us to question our worth… but we still, and will always be, perfectly created.
2011 was a busy year for our family. Kylie was getting married, Shalese was graduating, and we had 10 children at home, ranging in age from 1-20. Life was full and wonderful! Then, for me, things suddenly changed. I woke up one morning feeling numb and tingly from my tailbone down through my toes. Heavy fatigue set in, and the discomfort intensified. After a couple weeks of doctor appointments and managing symptoms, I was diagnosed with MS. This was a shock. I felt overwhelmed realizing how life changing this could be, and in my heart, I wondered why I wasn’t spared this trial after having had a big family with the physical sacrifices involved… I still had a lot to learn.
As I prayed, I asked for understanding. I asked that if I wouldn’t be healed, that there would be purpose for this disease and that I would grow through the struggle. That prayer was (and continues to be) answered. It slowed me down and caused me to take an inventory of all that I was doing, and I made some needed changes to simplify my life. I stopped taking things like balance, memory, and energy for granted. Now, 12 years later, I can see the many opportunities it has given me to relate with others who also have physical struggles, and reach out with compassion.
These thoughts are what led me to write “Perfectly Created”. How do we remember that we are children of Heavenly Parents, lovingly and perfectly created when our bodies go through trials and change? How can we hold onto the truth that real and lasting beauty comes from nurturing and sharing our divinely inherited light?
TRUST. We get the opportunity to trust in God’s plan; if we allow the Refiner’s fire to REFINE us in these growing, changing, aging physical bodies, we will become even better with time. We will become more compassionate, more kind, more patient, more able to see the beauty within ourselves and others.
As we look forward to a restoration of all things through Christ, we can see that here and now, our experiences are preparing us for that restoration. Being perfectly created doesn’t mean we are perfect, or that life is perfect… it means that we are growing, learning and becoming who He knows we can be.
PERFECTLY CREATED
written by; Kimberly Kofoed
Verse 1:
I used to dread the lines
All the flaws and imperfections
That come with age and time
And closed the door of youth
But then I came to find
That these lines were just reflections
Of experience and time
the miracle of life
Verse 2:
I used to fear the change
as my body started growing
To a different size and shape
Things would never be the same
But then I felt her move
And my future started glowing
I was forever changed
The miracle was true
Chorus:
We are perfectly created
Perfectly created
with a body and a spirit
intertwined as one
DNA from Holy parents
Light that we inherit
When we trust we find
We are better with
time, time, time
Verse 3:
The news was hard to hear
Didn’t want to face the weakness
But I pushed beyond the fear
And focused on their love
It slowed me down but still
I could feel Their loving kindness
more precious now was time
The miracle of life
Chorus
Bridge:
Time… it is an elusive thing
We question…Why
To just about everything
But oh time…flies
And look at what we are becoming
As we trust the one that gave us
this miracle of life
Chorus:
For we are perfectly created
Perfectly created
with a body and a spirit
intertwined as one
DNA from Holy parents
Light that we inherit
When we trust we find
We are better with
time, time, time