"She chose it simply because she liked it"

This afternoon Andi, Kit and I tried out a few of my new birth flower paintings in their room.

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I decided that I was going to hang the July Birth Flower Painting (Delphinium), but when Andi saw that I had taken down the rose painting, she was adamant that I hang the "pink one" back up.

What made me smile was that it wasn’t necessarily the one that matched her room the best.

She didn’t choose it because the colors coordinated perfectly or because it was the obvious choice for the space.

She chose it simply because she liked it.

There’s something so sweet about watching your children begin to have preferences of their own. To see the little things that catch their eye, the colors they gravitate toward, and the things they choose simply because they love them.

It has been such a joy to watch Andi grow and begin to see more and more of her own style and uniqueness emerge.

And as I thought about her choice, I found myself thinking about another kind of choosing.

The Bible tells us that God chose us.

Not because we were the most beautiful choice.

Not because we had something in ourselves that made us worthy of being chosen.

Not because we had earned His love.

He chose us because He loved us.

His love wasn't a response to something we had done to make ourselves worthy. His love came first.

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

These birth flowers represent children who are deeply loved and known. They remind me of the words of Psalm 139 — that the Lord knows us completely, even from before we were born.

Our children are gifts we have been given, but ultimately, they belong to Him.

And perhaps that's why I love seeing the rose in Andi’s room.

She chose it simply because she liked it.

I chose to put it in her room because I love her.

And God chose us because He loves us.

What a beautiful thing it is to build a home around reminders of the people we love — and, even more so, to remember that we ourselves are loved by a God who chose us before we ever chose Him.

The Birth Flower Collection is now available, along with my newest Dogwood painting with a soft blue background.

I hope these paintings find their way into homes where they become part of the stories being lived there — reminders of the people who make a house a home, and of the God who is our true and everlasting home.

With love,

Shelby