Why Yatsar?

Why yatsar?

It's the Hebrew word for distressed, cramped, to make narrow. It's used when Jacob's brother Esau is after him with 400 men for stealing his birthright and his blessing (although, let's be fair, Esau sold his birthright).

It's used when David is about to be stoned by his people for allowing all of the women and children of Ziklag to have been carried off. (1 Samuel 30. Interesting story. Go read it.)

It's used in Job, when one of his friends is speaking about God punishing the wicked.

But, beautifully, in Genesis 2 it is also the word used to describe God creating Adam from the dirt.
And this is why I am titling my blog Yatsar. Because even though I experience distress every day of my life (some days more than others), every day of my life God is also squeezing me, pushing me from the dirt of my past into a new creation. God uses the distresses of our lives to form us. And I find that to be awesome and powerful.