There's a pair of earrings I keep coming back to.

They're white, clean, soft, quiet at first glance. But look a little closer and you'll see it: a delicate lace pattern pressed right into the clay. Not painted on top. Not added at the end. Pressed in. And here's the part that stopped me; the way that beauty got there was by pressure. Something was pressed down into the clay hard enough to leave a mark that would last.

I couldn't stop thinking about that. Because isn't that just like us?

The work no one sees

"My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."
Psalm 139:15 (NKJV)

I love that word; skillfully wrought. It means carefully crafted. Worked on with intention. Made by a skilled hand that knew exactly what it was doing.

But notice where it happened. In secret. In the lowest parts. In the depths, where no one was watching and there was nothing to show yet.

That's not usually where we think God is doing His best work. We think the beautiful stuff happens in the spotlight;  the answered prayer, the open door, the moment everyone finally sees what we've been waiting for. But Scripture tells us the skillful work, the intricate work, the work that leaves a lasting mark, a lot of that happens in the secret place. In the hidden season. In the depths.

When you feel pressed

Maybe you're in one of those seasons right now.

The kind where you feel pressed on every side. Pressed by the bills, the diagnosis, the waiting, the silence. Pressed by things you can't say out loud and burdens no one else can see. It can feel like nothing good is happening. Like you've been set down in a low place and forgotten.

But friend, hear me: the pressing is not the end of the story. The pressing is part of the design.

That lace pattern doesn't appear without pressure. The clay has to be pressed to receive the beauty. And what looks like weight bearing down on you may be the very thing the Maker is using to press something beautiful, and lasting, into who you are.

He is not absent in your hidden season. He is at work in it.

He sees you

Read that verse one more time: "My frame was not hidden from You."

Not hidden from Him. You may feel unseen by everyone else, and you might be, for now. But you have never once been hidden from God. He sees you in the low place. He sees the pressing. He sees what's being formed in you that the rest of the world won't understand until later.

Nothing about this season is wasted. Every bit of the pressure is being wrought; skillfully, intentionally, by a hand that has never made a single mistake; into something beautifully unique. Into you.

That's your flare

So the next time you feel pressed, remember the lace.

Remember that the most intricate beauty is pressed in, not painted on. Remember that the secret place is not where God forgets you,  it's where He's shaping you. And remember that you were skillfully wrought by a Maker who saw you the whole time.

You are being made on purpose. Even now. Even here.

That's your flare. Beautifully. Unique. Made on purpose.

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The Carla Dangle Earrings are a neutral with a bold spirit; polished enough for special occasions, easy enough for every day. Wear the reminder. Shop BU Flare →