The first time I saw the helix-shaped staircase in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I marveled. It was built sometime between 1877 and 1881 (the iron railings were added in 1887), but there is no record of who built it. It rises 20 feet, making two full turns without the support of a central pole. The staircase is built mostly out of wood and is held together by wooden pegs, with no glue, nails or other hardware used. The inner stringer consists of seven wooden segments joined together with pegs, while the longer outer stringer has nine segments. The exact wood used to build the staircase has been confirmed to be a type of spruce not native to New Mexico; in fact—it is not scientifically identified anywhere else in the world. It has 33 stairs, the same number as the age of Christ at the time of his death. No one knows for sure who built it. But there is no doubt that..
…the Loretto staircase is the miraculous and captivating creation of a brilliant master carpenter.
Did you know that God created us to be glorious and captivating? We were created to stand out from all of His creation. We were created in the image of GOD.
God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27 NKJV
When we are born again and we endeavor to make God our master, He transforms us into a marvelous work of strength and beauty and enables us to do the work we were created to do.
We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
The closer we grow to God and the more we distance ourselves from living a life of sin, the more we realize just how marvelously God has made us. It becomes apparent to us that to choose to live contrary to God’s Word would be like desecrating a masterpiece. Can you imagine the horror of someone taking a chainsaw to the Loretto Staircase??? The Psalmist understood His unique value as a work of God:
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
Psalms 139:14
In God’s presence we recognize our strength, beauty, and wisdom. We cease trying to be someone we’re not. We love who He made us. We rejoice at our uniqueness and revel in the path He sets before us.
When God is our Lord and Master we are mysteriously beautiful, exceedingly strong, and extraordinarily wise.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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2 Responses
God bless you Ms. Faith.
Amen