Hand Made with Love

I lifted the purse from the rack at the craft fair, held it in my hands, marveling at the beauty and quality of the craftsmanship. 

"It's handmade," the artisan said with a smile. It was obvious she'd created the items with a joyful heart, anticipating that whoever purchased her wares would enjoy them as much as she did. I felt certain they'd been created with love. The care and compassion she put into her work reminded me of the beautiful hand-knit and crocheted prayer shawls made by the women at our church, or the dresses my mother used to sew for me for school.     

Yet, how many things do we own that are made with that kind of love and affection? Perhaps not a lot. When I think of hand-made items, I usually think of those which are painstakingly crafted without the use of machines (think manufacturing). However, even factory-made goods require a human touch to run the machines on the production line.       
 
The quality of a product depends upon the maker's skill and intention. Did they intend to create the best product possible? (We all know about poorly created products that don't work or fall apart). But for the individuals, business owners, or artisans who take pride in their work, they will feel good about putting their name on the products they create. It's all about intention.  

The Maker's Intent. I can't help but reflect and think of THE Maker, our Lord God, who set His Almighty Hands in motion to create the universe, and His Divine, loving and compassionate intention to intricately fashion and mold us in His image. 

"And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."  - Genesis 1:27 

From Psalm 139:    
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know full well your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 

God's love for us: 
"In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins." - 1 John 4:9-10.

Smile and be glad, for your have been wonderfully made! God has set His stamp of approval on you.    There is no one else on earth exactly like you. (If you had an identical twin, do you know that your fingerprints would be different?)    

You were lovingly "hand-made" by the Master Creator, the Lord of All, the One who created Love, who  gave us the capacity to know what Love is--all because of Him.       

                                                                                      #
Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com 
 

​    

---