What do you do when your children enthusiastically announce what they want to be when they grow up and you’re pretty sure it will never become reality? My parents were incredibly supportive of my childhood dreams. They ingrained in me the belief that I could do almost anything I set my mind to. When I declared my desire to be a singer they could have pointed out that everyone cringed at my tone-deaf vocal renditions… but they didn’t. Instead they made sure I had voice lessons and the opportunity to sing. Who knew I’d go on to major in vocal performance?

The Table Talk question for tonight in the Because God is… calendar raises the issue of our dreams and how God made us. I encourage you to ask the question this week around the dinner table. (find it at dg4kids.com and click on the calendar.) It’s fun to talk about what they want to be as well as explore the special abilities and qualities God has woven into each child.

Sometimes, however, a child isn’t happy with how he/she was made. A family devotion using Amy’s story will be a great help. Here’s part of the devotion as you would use it with your kids:

Read Amy’s story…

Amy desperately wanted blue eyes. Every time she looked in the mirror and saw her brown eyes staring back at her, she asked God to make them blue. Everyone in her family had blue eyes, and Amy could not imagine how God had slipped up and given her brown ones.

Let’s stop the story here for a minute.
Do you think God made a mistake and gave Amy brown eyes when they should have been blue? Why/why not?
Let’s read on…

As Amy grew up, her eyes remained the same shade of brown, but her heart for those who didn’t know Jesus grew. She learned about the people of India, and God gave her a great desire to share His message of love with them. When she was still a young woman, she traveled thousands of miles from her family to live among the women of India.
The women of India cover their mouth and nose when they are in public. Amy wanted to honor the customs, so she also wore a scarf across her mouth and nose. One day, she looked in the mirror after she had put the scarf in place and what she saw took her breath away.

Can you guess what it was? What was the only part of her face that was showing? (NOTE: Put a scarf or piece of cloth over your nose and mouth so they can see what Amy saw.) (Her eyes!)

Amy’s brown eyes stared back at her. Brown eyes… just like the eyes of the Indian women she was trying to talk to about Jesus! She looked like one of them! If she had blue eyes, she would not have fit in, and the women would not have listened to what she had to say!
When Amy was in her mom’s tummy, God knew she would grow up to love the Indian women and He would send her to them. He also knew that brown eyes would be better than blue eyes in India. Amy was thankful for her brown eyes from that day on!

God’s masterpiece called Amy Carmichael was perfectly created for God’s perfect plan.

You can find the rest of the devotion at: http://dg4kids.com/bible-time/day-two-god-is-creator-king/

Let me know if you have any questions! Remember, you are His masterpiece as well!

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT

My daughter and some friends re-created this Waterhouse masterpiece for a Chalk Festival.