Origami.

How is your life going at this moment? What are some of the joys that you are experiencing? What are some of the challenges? Is anything painful or irritating?

I was a part of an art presentation at a local college and the head of the department took us through an exercise on "memory." He used origami and our interaction with the paper to demonstrate how the paper has creases or "memory" - the paper remembers the folds that are impressed on it.

We are like that paper and we have folds pressed in on us by our family, by our neighborhood, by our work environment, by our culture, by well-meaning individuals and by some who act more like bullies. We have creases or folds; we have "memory." Some are full of joy and some are painful. Some are traumatic and some are soothing. They all make an impact.

The point the professor made is that God uses all those folds to create a beautiful design in our life, much like the folds and creases create an ornate and beautiful paper sculpture for origami.

No matter what you are facing today, no matter what the hurts of the past, we offer this prayer that God would use all that has been and will be a part of your life and use it to create stunning aesthetics and beauty.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, take the painful creases and frustrating folds of our life and turn them into works of God-formed origami - turn our chains into freedom, our tears into comfort, our ashes into beauty. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, NIV).

“The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:1-3, ESV).