Built for This

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

Sometimes when the winter temperatures are subzero and the wind is whipping about, I think of the barred owl and other creatures I enjoy photographing. Are they staying safe and warm? Are they surviving? Not all do, of course, but these creatures are usually just fine in cold weather. They are “built for it.” Unlike ours, their bodies are made to withstand severe temperatures.

Birds, for example, can drop their metabolic rate to conserve heat, while they use their feathers as insulation and a means to trap warm air close to their bodies.

In the liturgy I used for a recent family funeral, I used some clippings from {her} journal. From this scrapbook, a portion of a letter-to-an-advice-columnist included this response/advice: “Remember, though, that we are built for this. We are meant to die and we are meant to witness death. We are meant to love, too.”  

A similar phrase (“made for this”) appeared in an article I just read in Better Homes and Gardens. The interview was with a homeowner who lost everything in the Pacific Palisades fires in 2025. Or maybe not everything: when sorting through the rubble, she discovered a set of bowls from her wedding china: inexplicably preserved, when everything else had been incinerated. A friend who had marveled along with her about the timing of the fires and the discovery of the plates: she had been practicing meditation and they both felt this was central to her survival and perspective: “it’s almost like you were made for this.” She (the homeowner) says that we don’t survive difficult things in our lives without breaking somewhere. “We’re more fragile than we look, and also so much stronger than we ever imagined.” It all becomes part of our stories.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we are “built for this”. We are created in your image, as your beloved children. Help us to use this knowledge to strengthen us spiritually. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

(I couldn’t miss an opportunity to share photos of a barred owl (since I referenced them above!) and a golden-crowned kinglet, famous for withstanding cold temps.)