You are special!!

“You are special, do you know that Jay?” He wouldn’t look me in the eye as I sat next to him in the grass. In reply he ducked his head and stared at his lap. I wasn’t sure he had heard me until the corner of his mouth turned up slightly and he mumbled, “why am I special?”.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t understand you, what did you say Jay?”
“Why am I special?” ,he repeated, a little louder looking up to meet my gaze.
What to say Lord??? How can I possibly convince him in one conversation that he is infinitely precious to you?? Help Lord!!
“Well…” I stalled a moment as I tried to think of a concrete answer, “Because God created you special and unique, there is no one else in the whole entire world just like you, no one who thinks the same way you do, no one who feels the same way you do…” My words sounded lame even to my own ears. I knew what I was saying was true but it sounded generic. I glanced at his face to gauge his reaction, his expression was open, he looked as if he desperately wanted to believe the words I was saying but he didn’t seem convinced. Silence fell between us. I studied my hands in my lap, as I grasped for the right words, absently noticing the dirt smudged across my fingertips. That’s it!
I grabbed Jay’s hand and turned it so his palm was facing up, “You see the pattern on the very tips of your fingers, no one else in the whole of Africa, in the whole wide world has the exact same pattern on their fingertips. Do you know why people sometimes put their thumbprint on important legal papers?
“…Because they can’t write their names?” he replied, while he studied the tips of his fingers with interest.
“Well, yes”, I answered, “but also because each person’s fingerprint is unique and it can be used to identify who they are. God made you with very specific details”
A small glimmer of understanding seemed to light his eyes as he continued to study his fingers intently.
“And you know what Jay?”
“What? he replied, glancing up once again
“God loves you and he knows you by name.”

Jay was orphaned at age 3. The people who killed his parents during the war are now on the hunt to find him so they can kill him also. He remembers hiding in a bush and hearing the men who killed his parents searching for him. He was found by his uncle and was immediately taken to the UK for safety. He was safe for more than nine years…until 3 months ago when his parents’ enemies discovered his location in the UK. He has now been brought to Ghana, to the sisters of Charity orphanage in hopes that he will be safe. What must it be like to be only 13 years old and know that there are people in the world who want you dead? And who are so intent on that purpose that they are willing to travel to another continent to accomplish it? Does he live in constant fear? Does he remember what it feels like to be safe? I only see little Jay every 2 weeks or so but I pray for him often. Please pray that the Lord would continue to protect him, and that the Lord would reveal Himself to Jay in a very real way. He is a smart kid, there is an intensity about him that draws me to him. I am thankful the Lord gave me a simple way to illustrate His tender care and design of us. Pray that the Lord would whisper to Jay’s heart that he is infinitely precious to the God of the universe…and that when he looks at his hands it would remind Him of God’s special design and plan for His life.