Several years ago I read about a girl named Mary who had been born with a cleft palate. When she started school, her classmates teased and taunted her unmercifully because of her scarred and misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. Mary soon became convinced that no one could love her.

There was a teacher in the second grade, however, whom all the children liked. Mrs. Leonard was a cheerful woman, full of good humor and affection. Each year she checked the children’s hearing with a simple test. The students would stand across the room from her as she whispered a question such as: “What color are your shoes?” or “Do you have a new dress?” and the child would answer. When the time came for Mary’s turn, she listened closely for the teacher to whisper. Then she heard these words: “I wish you were my little girl.”

Those words changed Mary’s life forever. She realized she was loved, despite her flawed features, by someone who mattered.

Though you may feel unworthy and unwanted, God wants you to know that He is merciful, forgiving, and full of love for you (Psalm 103:1-8). Do you know that God loves you like that?  —DHR