Bible Reading: Psalm 139:13-16

Everyone in Daphne’s family had blond hair except for her. Her hair was bright red. She stood out in every family picture and too often heard comments about being her parents’ “red-headed girl.” Some people told Daphne her hair was pretty, and others just looked at her strangely, like she didn’t belong.

Daphne sat on a camp chair at her little brother’s soccer game and tried to cover as much of her hair as possible with her bucket hat. She heard someone sit down beside her and glanced over at her grandpa. “How’s my little redhead?” he asked.

Daphne sighed. “Do you have to call me that?”

Grandpa’s gray brow lifted. “No, I don’t have to. But what’s wrong with it?”

“I’m tired of having red hair.” Daphne frowned and sat forward, watching as her brother kicked the ball to his teammate. “I don’t like being different from everyone in my family. I wish I had blond hair too.”

“But then you wouldn’t stand out,” Grandpa said.

“Exactly!” Daphne turned to him. “I want to fit in. I want to have blond hair and look like them instead of being the redhead of the family.”

Grandpa tapped his chin. “I think your grandma felt that way too sometimes.”

“Grandma?” Daphne asked.

“She had red hair like yours before it went gray,” Grandpa said. “She’s where you get it from.”

Daphne couldn’t remember her grandma well because she had passed away when she was young, and she’d never realized she had red hair.

“I think it’s a special thing that God passed on to you,” Grandpa said. “I love seeing your red hair. And I know God makes no mistakes. If He wanted you to be just like the rest of your family, He would have made you that way.” Grandpa smiled at her. “Sometimes it’s hard to be different, but it’s also good. God made each of us unique in many ways, not just in our looks. It’s good to enjoy and embrace that rather than fight it, knowing God created each of us with care because He loves us.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” Daphne said. It felt better knowing her grandma had been a redhead too and to be reminded that God had made her that way.

–Bethany Acker

How About You?
Do you embrace the unique qualities God has given you? Or do you feel frustrated because you don’t look or act the same way as your family or friends? God made you just as you are, and He loves you so much that Jesus gave His life to save you. Instead of wishing you were different, let Him help you enjoy being the unique person He created you to be.

Today’s Key Verse:
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (NIV) (Psalm 139:14 )

Today’s Key Thought:
God made you just right