When I was a little girl, there was no money for toys. The freedoms and wealth from pre-communist days had been stripped from Cuba. Everyone became equal. Equally living in poverty, with food being rationed; and under the control of Fidel Castro. My family immediately planned on moving to the U.S.
Non-communists or gusanos (worms), were looked down on. My mom kept me from the neighborhood kids for protection, and so I wouldn’t pick up a communist attitude.
You would think an only child receives a lot of attention from family, but attention and affection were scarce in my home. I was often very lonely. I didn’t understand it then, but I longed for healthy interaction and relationships.
Spending so many hours alone brought out my creative streak. My mom taught me to draw paper-dolls out of plain paper. I then colored their features in with coloring pencils. The paper-dolls became my family and friends.
They were the brothers and sisters, the dad and mom I longed for. I loved them. I treated them gently so they wouldn’t tear. Once in a while a leg or arm would break off from constant handling. I mourned their loss when this happened. We had no tape to fix them with.
”Make another paper-doll just like that one.” My mom said. I tried to remake my torn paper-dolls, but they never came out the exact same way. Each one of my “people” was unique. I gave the paper-dolls thoughts, emotions, personalities, and characteristics similar to mine. I gave them a heart like mine. They reflected me because I made them in my image. I wanted to relate to them and be part of their “lives.”
That is exactly what God did when He created humanity. According to Scriptures, He created human beings in His image. He gave us thoughts, emotions, personalities, characteristics, and a heart like His. God loved His creation and wanted interaction and relationship with them, just like I did with my paper-dolls. God’s desire to relate to us, and His passion for mankind continues on to this day.
God hurts when we hurt. He mourns our loss when we choose to pull away from him. This Daddy loves His children!
Psalm 8, A Psalm of David
LORD our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us* make man in Our* image, according to Our* likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.
*Who are the “Us” and “Our” God refers to? Father, Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the Light of all mankind. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through Him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the Light.
The true Light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and only Son, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Hebrews 1:2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world.
By ~ Elizabeth Yalian 2013 ©http://hiseyeisonthissparrow.com.
HIS EYE IS ON THIS SPARROW TOO Still Learning to Lean on God 
Elizabeth-
You may know this but it may benefit others. ‘Abba’ whereby we cry ‘abba’ is a term of endearment literally, (if I understand it correctly) which means ‘daddy.’ a word reserved only for they who have this kind of relationship.
Let’s face it, the mocker would not use such a word, nor the foll or sceptic, but others who have been invited to sup at the Father’s table surely can.
It’s like the woman who is married to a judge, but does not call him by his first name in the court, out of respect. Yet, the Lord who as ‘your honour’ not only invites us close, but to the secret chamber, where the relationship is precious, hence not only Father, but ‘daddy.’
Thank you so much for pointing out this beautiful and intimate way in which the Lord God sees His children and wants them to relate to Him!
Yes, and if you know the term ‘daddy’s little girl,’ it makes perfect sense. Abraham knew God as El Shaddai (God of the breast) and we see the apostle John nearing the Lord’s bosom.
So many nuances of favour God bestows upon his own…it’s no wonder we are told to ‘draw nigh,’ but we must make a holy approach, yes??
I like that ‘daddy’s little girl.’ Yes, certainly we must come to Him humbly and accept His grace.
Thank you so much for pointing out this beautifully intimate way in which the Lord God sees His children and wants them to relate to Him!
Oye, Hermana! Soy cubana tambien! Que cosa a encontrarla. Y que lindo sus palabras aqui.
Gracias! Mi Espanol esta a bit rusty when it comes to writing though I can read it decently, and speak it pretty well I think! I will try. There is not much occasion to speak it in the northwest. All my Spanish speaking family that came here passed on (I had a very small family) It may sound awkward for you but I will try. Cuando Usted llego aqui? y Donde en Cuba Usted vivio?
I’ll put this into my email 🙂
😉
George, if you would like, maybe you can email me at pricelesssparrow@gmail.com. I’d love to chat with you!
Sure thing, Elizabeth. 🙂 I’ve already written down your address, so if you need to delete this message you can. Talk to you soon.
Que bueno!
Don’t want to burden you but you have won the Wonderful Team Membership Reader Award.
Thank you so much, Melanie, it’s an honor to be thought of. I won’t be able to pass it on for quite a while, as I am in the middle of a couple of projects that are very time demanding, but do appreciate it!
no matter
It’s easy to forget how privileged we are in the US. It took a trip to Nicaragua to show me how good I had it – even when we were in poverty and lived in a broken down trailer, catching fish from the pond so we could eat.
Thanks for sharing this piece of your past with us.
\o/
Yes, life is overflowing with plenty in the U.S. even in poverty, and it’s a stark reality in other places where people live in broken down cardboard homes.
My paper dolls were ones I cut out of Sears & Roebuck catalogs. I created ‘homes’ for them by cutting out pictures of stoves, refrigerators, furniture, etc. I love the way you tied this into God’s creation of us and wanting a relationship with us! He truly is our Abba Father, loving and caring for us when in reality we are as insignificant as a paper cutout. Now that’s real love!
It’s amazing! It boggles the mind that the Lord of the universe would not only take notice of us, but that He would come to earth as one of us and sacrifice Himself for our sakes!
Re: paper dolls, I’m jealous! What a creative way to use those catalogs! We didn’t get any catalogs, so my paper dolls must have been very plain and homely. I was about 8 or 9 years old.
I too made paper dolls and designed paper clothes for them, not because I lived under a communist regime, but because we were a not-well off family. God shows his love for us by giving us his gift of choice. Yes he is saddened when we choose to pull away from him…..
I got a smile on my face when I read that you made your own paper dolls. I never knew anyone else who did that. Most kids had the store bought kind! 🙂
“God hurts when we hurt. He mourns our loss when we choose to pull away from him. This Daddy loves His children!”
Agreed 100% 🙂
Yep, He sure does!!!! 😉