Image

  

The beginning of a new year brings out the best in people - joining gyms, eating healthy, treating others with a newfound kindness and respect. What happens as the year goes on? We get into a routine called "survival mode". At least most of us do. My mom has a couple phrases she says all the time, one of them being "this is survival baby"! My life is a little different than the normal household though...for many reasons, we are just surviving. My church, family and friends have helped us with providing meals on different days and without that we'd be eating cereal and ramen. It's hard to work all day, clean up after everyone and then make a meal...especially when you've never been responsible for making a meal. I love cooking - it's so fun to chop, sauté and stir yummy food and serve it to people you love...I just can't always guarantee that it'll be good and that's the problem. I love desserts though! I am a master cupcake baker. I like to go by Katie Crocker. My mom and I loved to cook together...she was the head chef and I was her assistant. We would mess up measurements, have impromptu flour fights and drink way too much wine while attempting to make a meal. In my house, the kitchen is where family comes together. We would tell stories while we cooked or baked. I remember her telling me about cooking for my dad as newlyweds. They ate a lot of stuffed peppers because it was one of the only things she knew how to cook! My mom loved stuffed peppers because they were easy, filling and super difficult to mess up. If you ask my dad how he felt about all those stuffed peppers you'll get an entirely different response; I guess that's what the 'for better or for worse' clause covers in a marriage. My family has been humbled by the support we've received through gift cards and meals - you have no idea the impact you've made on our hearts and our stomachs. I am constantly reminded that God provides...it is through these people that have given their time and talents demonstrating that God is at work.

In Genesis, we learn about God and his talents for creation. We learn about his timeline of events. We learn about the heavens, earth and animals He provided. We also learn our place in it all; "God created human beings in his own image". The word 'image' is what I dwell on in this passage. As a fashion merchandising major, I've learned a lot about self-expression and image over the last 3 years. We all have an image we're trying to convey...to others and to ourselves. God has called us to be like Him - whatever that means. Honestly, I'm not sure how we were all created in HIS image. All of us are so different. There are Caucasian people, Hispanic people, African American people - peace corp volunteers, murderers and Paris Hilton. How are we all created by the same person, in the same image? These are the questions I want answered. I don't know anyone that has an answer...other than God. I do know that 'image' is a continuous learning curve. I'm 22 and have no idea who I am or what image I'm projecting...but I'm starting to find out. My main resolution this year is to be "unwritten". Every day I discover pieces of myself that I love and dislike. Every day I have the opportunity to make someone else smile or laugh. Every day I am given another chance to be the person I want to be...for myself, my mom and God. While those things may be in the wrong order...God is at least in my regular thought process again. God created some incredible things - us included. He wouldn't claim us as His own if He weren't proud of us. I like to think that God drives a huge bus with a "proud parent" bumper sticker on the back - he has given us each different paths to take for success and self-reflection. We all have many talents and much time to give, whether it's in the kitchen or workplace, it doesn't matter. What's important is that we give it. God gave us all of these things so that we could represent Him to the fullest, so this year let's make Him proud.