Condemned by Society but Loved by GOD.

          Every parent looks forward to having a brand-new baby, “perfect”, ten fingers and ten toes. However, no parents imagine hearing or want to hear, that their baby has something wrong. My parents heard the news on a twenty-week ultrasound when the nurse came in and said, “I can’t find your baby’s left arm.” My mom was immediately devastated as any mother carrying their child would be. Needless to say, they were in shock, and had no idea of what God had planned but they had full faith that he had a plan in place for them and for the baby. After the nurse left to get the doctor the next thing that swept the room was one my parents never imagined would. There was soon to be a conversation between my parents and the doctor, a conversation that my parents would choose to be kept secret from me for 19 years of my life.
            The secret was when the doctor explained how I wouldn’t fit into the perfections of society. Because of my imperfection, he proposed the unimaginable, an abortion. It was then when I was condemned by society. My parents being strong in faith and full of the love for Jesus, immediately said no, for she is a Child of God. This is when God stepped in and said to my parents DO NOT FEAR. God showed them that I had a purpose, as each and every one of us do. I was a child who was fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. And so, my life became not my own story but God’s story from the very start.
           Here I am today with a purpose that was set forth for me while in my mother’s womb. Where God’s love was shown in that doctor’s office and he stepped in.
            My parent’s always say I was born waving my “little arm”. I was born missing my left arm right below the elbow, born an imperfect child, in a society where imperfect is condemned.  From the moment I was born, God had a plan for me, as he does for all of us. A plan much greater than we could ever imagine. Growing up I did anything any kid with two hands would do. I played sports, I went to school, I was just like everyone else except one thing, I looked extremely different than the other kids around me. When asked what happened I simply explained, “God decided to make me with one instead of two”. My answer from the very beginning was always God. Which leads me to something that is so much greater.
            We live in a society where we are expected to look a certain way, where we are expected to hide our imperfections, and the problem with this is that, society is so beyond broken as a whole. Our world is so broken, and no one seems to know the answer to all of this, but really it is quite simple. We all have purpose. We all have an identity that we create or search for. The problem is, our identity is not something that we should be creating. We need to be praying for God to show us our purpose, to show us our path.
                From a young age, I decided that my difference was never going to define who I was. But, my difference was a part of my story that God had written for my life. That day my parents said no to an abortion and God took over the presence of that room. God gave me my purpose, He said, bring love, be a light to the darkness, show my love, my grace, and my mercy. Our identity is not found in material things. Our identity is not found in the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the music we listen to, or our friends. Our identity is found in something so much greater than all of those things. No one on this Earth is perfect. We all have imperfections, it doesn’t matter what those are, it matters how you see those imperfections. Do you see them through society’s eyes? Or through God’s eyes? We all have day’s when we feel alone, when we feel broken, like no one in this world could possibly understand what we are going through. But instead of praying we seek material things that we think will fill the void of “not being good enough” or being “imperfect”. We all have a purpose, and it is probably not the one that we think we have planned. It is God’s purpose for our life, he gets to write our stories. Remember, if you can lose it, your identity is not in it. Your identity is in God, for you are a Child of God and you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You have purpose in Him.
            Two weeks ago, when my parents told me the secret. My entire life story, every detail, every night full of tears because I had a “bad one arm day”. Every triumph, and every prayer made sense and made my purpose through God clearer than ever before. We cannot allow ourselves to write our own story. God has written it for us from before we were even put onto this Earth. We cannot allow society to define us. There is one answer to all of this and the answer is God. Our purpose, our identity, our worth, is found in Jesus Christ. He has purpose for each of our lives, just pray and ask him to show you. Allow God to lead you. Allow God to show you your purpose.
            I might have been condemned by society, but I am Loved by God. And God always wins. 

---