Sunday, July 19, 2026

The Family Business

One of the most profound statements in Scripture is found in the opening pages of Genesis:

“So God created mankind in His own image…” (Genesis 1:27)

We often think about what it means to bear God’s image in terms of morality, relationship, or identity. Those are certainly part of it. But there is another aspect that has become increasingly beautiful to me.

The very first thing we learn about God is that He creates.

Before we know Him as Deliverer, Shepherd, Healer, Redeemer, or King, we meet Him as Creator.

The Great I AM speaks, and worlds come into existence. Order emerges from chaos. Light breaks through darkness. Life flourishes where there was nothing.

If we are made in His image, shouldn’t we expect that same impulse to create to live within us?

I believe it does.

For some people, that creativity is obvious. They paint, compose music, design buildings, write books, cook incredible meals, or build businesses. Their creations can be held in your hands or seen with your eyes.

But creativity is far broader than art.

Some people create safe homes where children learn they are loved.

Some create community, bringing strangers together until they become family.

Some create hope in hospital rooms.

Some create healing through listening ears and compassionate hearts.

Some create stability in organizations where chaos once ruled.

Some create opportunities that change the trajectory of another person’s life.

Some create justice by speaking for those who have no voice.

Some create systems that help people flourish.

Some create moments where another person finally feels seen.

These creations may never hang in a gallery, yet they carry eternal significance.

Every day we are creating something.

We are creating environments.

We are creating culture.

We are creating habits.

We are creating memories.

We are creating trust—or destroying it.

We are creating peace—or sowing division.

We are creating hope—or feeding despair.

Whether we recognize it or not, our lives are constantly producing something.

Jesus spoke about stewardship in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25). Each servant was entrusted with resources according to their ability. The issue wasn’t who received more or less. The question was what they did with what had been placed in their hands.

One servant invested what he had.

Another multiplied what he had received.

One buried it out of fear.

The Master wasn’t measuring comparison. He was measuring faithfulness.

God has entrusted every one of us with something.

Talents.

Experiences.

Relationships.

Knowledge.

Influence.

Time.

Resources.

Compassion.

Wisdom.

None of these were given simply for our own benefit. They were given to steward well.

I also think about children.

Watch a toddler long enough, and you’ll notice they imitate everything. They repeat phrases they hear. They mimic expressions. They copy gestures. They learn by reflecting the people they love.

Perhaps we never really outgrow that.

As children of God, we mirror our Father.

He creates.

So we create.

Not because we have to prove ourselves, but because His nature has left its fingerprints on ours.

The beauty is that no two people reflect Him in exactly the same way.

One person writes songs.

Another mentors students.

Another raises children with extraordinary patience.

Another develops technology that serves people.

Another quietly prepares meals for neighbors.

Another advocates for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

Each expression reflects a different facet of the Creator.

The world often measures success by visibility.

God measures faithfulness.

The most significant things we create may never receive applause.

They may exist only in the character of a child.

The confidence of a friend.

The restoration of a marriage.

The encouragement that kept someone from giving up.

The conversation that pointed someone toward Christ.

Those are creations too.

Every day we are sowing something into the lives around us.

We can sow generosity or selfishness.

Truth or deception.

Grace or bitterness.

Peace or conflict.

Hope or fear.

Every choice plants a seed.

Eventually every seed bears fruit.

The question isn’t whether we’re creating.

We all are.

The question is: What are we creating?

May we steward well whatever God has entrusted to us.

May we build what reflects His heart.

May we cultivate lives that leave people better than we found them.

And may we never forget that the impulse to create isn’t merely a personality trait—it is one of the many beautiful ways we bear the image of the Great I AM.


Creation Still Sings

The older I get, the harder it becomes for me to look at this world and believe it all happened by accident.

Not because life has become easier.

Quite the opposite.

I’ve seen enough brokenness to know that this world is not as it should be.

I’ve watched relationships fracture.

I’ve attended funerals.

I’ve witnessed disease, pain, loss, and grief.

And every day in healthcare, I see evidence of a world that carries wounds.

Yet somehow, I also see evidence of something else.

Healing.

For years I’ve worked in wound care. I’ve watched the human body respond to injury in ways that still leave me in awe.

Skin—the very thing that keeps our insides in—breaks.

And immediately the body begins working toward restoration.

Cells communicate.

Blood vessels form.

Tissue rebuilds.

The body fights for wholeness.

Not perfectly.

Not instantly.

But purposefully.

It’s as if creation remembers what it was designed to be.

Then there was Alaska.

Towering mountains.

Glaciers that seemed untouched by time.

Whales surfacing from deep waters.

Forests stretching farther than the eye could see.

Standing there, I felt small.

Not insignificant.

Just aware.

Aware that I was standing inside something far greater than myself.

The beauty was overwhelming.

And yet Scripture tells us that creation is groaning.

That this world, magnificent as it is, is still waiting for restoration.

Which means what we see now isn’t the finished version.

These mountains are not the final chapter.

These oceans are not the final chapter.

Even the incredible ability of the human body to heal is not the final chapter.

They are glimpses.

Echoes.

Whispers of a Creator who still leaves His fingerprints on everything He made.

Sometimes I hear people ask how anyone can believe in God.

For me, the question often feels reversed.

How can I look at the intricate design of the human body?

How can I stand before a glacier?

How can I watch a wound heal?

How can I witness beauty emerging from brokenness?

And not believe there is a Creator behind it all?

The heavens still declare His glory.

The oceans still proclaim His power.

The mountains still testify to His majesty.

And even creation’s groaning points toward hope.

Because groaning implies expectation.

It means something better is coming.

One day every wound will be healed.

Every tear wiped away.

Every broken thing restored.

Until then, creation continues its song.

And if the world in its broken state is this beautiful, I can only imagine what awaits when all things are made new.

~ Louda

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Part 8: Carried

People will call you strong.

They’ll say it with the best intentions.

Because from the outside, it looks like you held it together.

Like you carried the weight without falling apart.

Like you found the right words.

Like you somehow knew what to do next.

They see the milestones.

The accomplishments.

The smile that eventually returned.

The fact that you kept showing up.

But they don’t see the full picture.

They don’t see the nights you cried yourself to sleep.

The prayers that felt like they never made it past the ceiling.

The questions that had no answers.

The moments you wondered if you had anything left to give.

They don’t see the quiet battles.

The grief you carried without talking about it.

The disappointment that settled into your heart.

The fear that you hid because everyone else needed you to be okay.

They don’t see the days you simply survived.

The days you got out of bed because people were counting on you.

The days you smiled even though your heart was breaking.

The days you took one more step—not because you wanted to, but because stopping wasn’t an option.

And somewhere along the way, people began to call you strong.

I understand why.

Strength is the only explanation that makes sense when someone keeps moving through impossible circumstances.

But I’ve learned something.

There is a difference between being strong…

and being sustained.

If it had depended on my own strength, there were moments I would have quit.

Moments I would have stayed on the floor.

Moments I would have admitted I had nothing left.

The truth is, I wasn’t holding everything together.

God was.

He carried what I couldn’t.

He gave peace when circumstances offered none.

He provided hope when I couldn’t see beyond the next hour.

He remained faithful when my faith felt fragile.

Looking back, I can see His fingerprints all over the places where I thought I was simply enduring.

What I called surviving…

He called carrying.

What I called barely making it…

He called never leaving.

So when someone tells me, “You’re so strong,” I appreciate the kindness behind the words.

But if I’m honest, that’s not my story.

My story is that I was carried.

By Someone steady.

Someone unchanging.

Someone who never walked away.

Someone who didn’t move…

even when everything else did.

That’s the heart behind my song, “You Didn’t.”

Not because I’m strong
Not because I understand…

It’s a reminder that faith isn’t about never feeling weak.

It’s about discovering that God’s faithfulness is greater than your weakness.

Because in the moments I thought I was holding on to Him…

I realized He had been holding on to me all along.