Nicole’s e-Pistle

May 7, 2025

Greetings, friends!

Last week, I talked to you about the National Day of Prayer. Well, today is the World Day of Prayer! There is a beautiful rendition of this year’s theme at https://worlddayofprayer.net/index.html, which comes from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific and states “I Made You Wonderful,” from Psalm 139:1-18.

I have emotional ties to the South Pacific, though I have never been there in person, mainly because of my love of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical of that name and also my kids’ love of Disney’s Moana. I also love this theme for its recognition that all people are wonderfully made in the image of God. In the context of the Cook Islands, this especially applies to their “movement’s support of women in expressing their faith and speaking about their lives in prayer and worship before God and in community” (from the website). In a world that seems to divide and categorize people against one another, it is encouraging to me to see such a movement calling the world’s people to unite as children of our Creator God, each of whom was fearfully and wonderfully made. Of course, if we say everyone… we must mean everyone!

I read recently in one of the many books I’ve been reading… (I always have at least six or seven going at once)… that while we as Christians must speak against injustice and evil actions we see in the world, we must be careful not to allow our speech to target individual people… I know, easier said than done. People are not our enemies – evil itself is the enemy. We are quick to label ourselves into camps and clubs – and you’re either on my side or you’re against me. There’s another saying that I hesitate to name, because of the immense harm it has done, especially to our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters… “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” This statement is true but has been used as a weapon to further label certain kinds of people as more sinful than others.

The truth is, every single human being on earth (yes, even those people) were fearfully and wonderfully made. Each human soul is treasured by God – at least that’s how I interpret scripture and how I feel the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart. Unfortunately, every single human being on earth also has immense capacity to choose evil and hatred over love and inclusion. It is a tricky line to walk when treating every person as a child of God while also speaking strongly against the choices and behaviors people make that harm others. I wish I could offer you a manual, but it is something I am still navigating myself. I hope we can all build each other up and offer gentle correction to each other (myself included) when necessary.

Ultimately, we are all wonderfully made and hopelessly imperfect. In other words, we’re a beautiful mess! The best we can do is to try to live into the call to love one another as Christ has loved us. As my former supervisor used to say, “It’s just that easy, and it’s just that difficult.”

Blessings and Peace,