July 20, 2015

Books

Soonish :: When God Made You

I know I'm a bit of a simpleton, but I think God had handstands, gardens, bicycles, hot tea, traveling to distant lands, and skeins and skeins of yarn on his mind when he was knitting me together...

Long ago I was pondering this question: What was God thinking when He made me? Not in the sarcastic sense--I'm happy he made me! But how does making someone work, not from a DNA standpoint, but from a Creator/Creation, spiritual viewpoint.

In response to this questioning, I did what I like to do when I'm trying to work something out; I wrote a children's book. First, it started by trying to imagine what collection of thoughts, things, gifts, colors, elements, etc... went into the making of my own children. I wrote this about Madeleine (whom I nicknamed Brigid) when she was about seven:

When God made Brigid, He gathered cheeriness and fireworks and pink fizzy candy, then trapped them in a silken purse. For three long days He shook the purse and added one by one a speck of dirt, a quiet sphere of blue, and a seed from the tallest climbing tree. Then God placed the purse across Brigid’s shoulders, breathed His sweet breath onto Brigid’s tiny toes, and said,

Brigid, dance.

What I love about this profile is how accurate it still rings, and yet how Madeleine, now 18, has also outgrown some of the imagery. I am not God--I can not foresee her road, nor know her as completely as He can. Only He could write her story perfectly.

And yet, how lovely to seek to know each other. To see each person reflected by way of one's choices, preferences, gifts, and talents.

When God Made You is a children's picture book--to be published by Ancient Faith Publishing in early 2016. Megan Gilbert is the illustrator, and the image above is a small cropping of the cover art. I am SO excited about this book. I foresee lots of school visits, asking kids to reflect on who they are, and why they're so beautifully unique. I foresee conversations between children and those grownups reading to them--about what makes them special, about what makes them THEM! And I have my own work to do. I've only written the profiles of my older two children, and even though it won't be in the book, I need to get working on a paragraph that best describes my littlest. 

Why don't you join me, and think about those around you that you know and love. I'd love to read your words, and celebrate with you the uniqueness of those in your lives...