My friend Ruth said something last night in a prayer that so resonated with my heart. It was not a new concept, but an ignored one. She basically was in a stream of thankfulness in her prayer and mentioned among a throng of other things her thankfulness for bringing each of us into this world. For allowing us to come through the birthing process and even exist.
It hit me like a fresh thought.
Because our days are ordained and numbered “before even one of them came to be”, God’s hand on our lives begins at the very moment that the egg and one selected sperm, out of hundreds of millions, unite.
Which means, of course, that you and I are one in hundreds of millions to God Himself. Hand picked. 🙂
And every day after that He cradled us in our mothers’ wombs. Forming each individual part. Crafting each fingernail and dimple and stick out ear :-). He gave our bodies the capacity to thrive in an environment without oxygen and allowed us to receive all nourishment inter venously in the most precious connection of life. The umbilical cord was our lifeline, our hope for a future in the outside world one day.
As our little forms grew we began to kick and squirm, to hiccup and somersault, God letting our mothers know that we were there and well. His hand massaging the stretch marked skin that held us in until just the right moment. His face smiling as He continued the work of creating our unique little personalities that would make us who we are.
And then the day came. Our mothers crying out in the agony of childbirth, their bodies working to push us out of our first nest. Even there, God giving them the strength to bring us into this world to begin to find our purpose. And we survived the miracle of exiting through an opening that is only the right size for the task when the time is right. When God deemed it best for us to take our first breath in this world.
The doctor or nurse or doula or midwife or husband or friend is there to help the process, to bring something from the inside, out. But God’s hands were around theirs. And somehow, beyond our understanding, He was both on the inside pushing and on the outside catching, welcoming us to the next part of His sweet and personal plan.
Our first scream in the cold of a new world was a wake up call to all around that a miracle had just happened. Life. God wiping a joyful tear from His eye as He saw us in the arms of our mothers for the first time. Bloody and messy and absolutely beautiful. His presence may or may not have been acknowledged, but He was right there, beaming from ear to ear.
This, our first feat of survival, was only the beginning. Only the first of many miracles awaiting us. There would be many adventures in the days and weeks and months and years ahead. We would miss or take for granted most of them. But none of them were accidental or lucky. They were the handiwork of the magic fingers of God. Every minute of every day seasoned by His touch. The good and the bad and the ugly all inside the grasp of His able hands that work in the dark places, as in the womb, to create something miraculous within us. Every inhale and exhale proof of His desire to use us to show who He is. Our Miracle Maker. Our Life Giver. Our Day Designer.
Let’s go live like the miracles that we are. Let’s witness in every moment the miracles that surround us.
Thank you, Ruth for your beautiful prayer of thankfulness for our existence. You’ve made my mind run wild with gratitude for the “simplest” of things.
(To those of you who, like me, have experienced the death of a baby or child and wonder where God’s miracle was in those instances, where God’s hand and presence were in those little lives, why their lives were so shortly numbered, I understand. The miracle of the little lives we lost too soon is a whole other beautiful story for another post. But know that they dance in heaven in knowing that they fulfilled their purpose even in their short little lives. They are alive and well and a very special type of miracle. My hugs to each of you if this post brought painful memories. And, as always, I am here if you ever want to tell me about your precious little one. I love to hear about heaven’s babies 🙂 )
Psalm 139:13-16 – For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
