Mark Sorensen I’m guessing the last time you were at the DMV or some other government office, you didn’t give a second thought to the black writing pen chained to that desk serving as a nice substitute to the pen you left in your car or at home. However, did you know that that government-provided pen has a story?
For over 40 years those Skilcraft pens have been assembled by blind factory workers in Wisconsin and North Carolina. To be used, they actually have to meet some rather rigorous specifications. A few of those qualifications include being able to write while upside down, write continuously for a minimum of one mile, and write between temperature swings from 40 below zero to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Though it costs less than 60 cents to make, that doesn’t mean it lacks value. Its length has been known to help lost Navy pilots navigate by map and they have been used to perform emergency tracheotomies.
Imagine. A single black pen that holds a fascinating history, woven together with war, peace, postage, bureaucrats, spies, work, and play. And you’d never know it when using it. It just seems so simple.
What a powerful illustration of the ordinary actually being something quite extraordinary.
You, me, that co-worker, the one driving beside you on the interstate, your next door neighbor? Don’t be deceived. We’re made in the image of our Creator.
Take a look at David’s words from Psalm 139:
For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. -Psalm 139:13-16 NRSV
So, today… this very moment, hear this: You have value and you hold great worth. As David said, “you’re fearfully and wonderfully made.” You have a story. Maybe it’s one of redemption and hope. Or, perhaps, there’s brokenness in your story right now. Wherever your heart might be while reading this, hold on. God’s still writing on the pages of your life. He’s still using you. All He requires? Your availability and trust.
