Paper Dolls

Surprisingly, Makayla's second week of school has been a little bit harder than the first. I think it might have something to do with the fact that the newness is wearing off. She is starting to realize that Kindergarten is very much like a job. She is expected to be there, and to play the role of student from Monday to Friday.

I've been watching her struggle to discover what that role really means. Stepping out of toddler, into the big kid world is a big step. Most times she is ready to jump right in, but then there are the moments when I can tell by her facial expression that it is just too much. A big part of her still wants to be my baby . . . and what mom wouldn't appreciate that?

The other day, Mrs. A sent a really fun project home for Makayla and I to work on. It was an large blank paper doll. The instructions were:

Attached to this letter is a cut out of a child. Your assignment is to help you child make it look like him/her. Give it your child's personality. Paint, felt pens, glitter, fabric, yarn, string, old baby clothes , and doll clothes are a few items that can be used if you choose. Be creative. These will be displayed in the classroom for our students to enjoy.

My girl and I started on the project this morning. We had lots of fun coloring the body, putting on clothes and trying to make painted toenails and flip flops out of a rounded foot. She added some costume jewelry, and we'll be adding some yellow yarn for hair.

Being such a perfectionist, it was difficult for me to watch Makayla draw the face. I bit my lip as she scribbled on a crooked set of eyeballs, and a toothy mouth with pink lip gloss run a muck. She was very pleased with her work, and I praised her for an excellent job.

It got me thinking about how we view ourselves. If God were to give us a blank paper doll, indicating how we feel about what's on the inside of us, how would we decorate it? Would we include glitter and glitz? Would the nose be perpendicular or kind of smashed looking? What about clothes? Would we be dressed like a movie star or more like a street bum?

I think our view of ourselves is important to God. We are his children, being made more and more into the image of his Son every day. Like I wrote back a few weeks ago, people are pretty funny looking. Crooked chins, messed up hair-do's . . . teeth gone wild. The great part about that is, that God never pays any attention to what's on the outside. God is always more concerned about what we look like on the inside.

So what would your paper doll look like? Do you view yourself as a child of the Most High God, as a saint who's been washed clean? Or are you still carrying around some of those old lies that tear away at your true identity?

God will take into consideration the fact that we maybe can't get the idea of royalty just right. Sometimes we may really mess up on believing we are led by the Spirit. But crooked eyes or not - God is always available to celebrate and cheer us on when we do our very best.

Buttons, glitter and glue . . . it's all the same to God. What matters most to him, is the faith of the decorator.