"For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
~Psalm 139: 14-15
This week I attended volunteer training at the Legacy Center, Mount Airy's Pregnancy Center assisting women and family's needs following an unplanned pregnancy. I called and wished to volunteer primarily as a vehicle to lend my skills as a childbirth educator. I wasn't thinking a great deal about this being a ministry tool or that there might be other avenues of service for me at the center. I just knew something about birthin' babies, to take a twist on Mammie's famous phrase from Gone With the Wind.
But as I sat there and the director of the center talked about the clientele that they served, many of whom I had worked with in my capacities as a public health social worker, God began to touch my heart. As a Christian, I was familiar with the scripture passages similar to the one listed above. And I knew the milestones women enjoy learning about during their pregnancy (i.e. @5 weeks the heart is about the size of a poppy seed, @14 weeks the baby is coordinated to suck his thumb @18 weeks the baby's reflexes are developed such as blinking & frowning, etc), but combining what we know spiritually and what science teaches us-I guess you could say I had an a-ha moment.
As the Psalmist so beautifully illustrates we are beautifully made. Like a craftsman and their medium, God places us in our mother's womb and knits us uniquely. Whether our conceptions were designed by baby crazy parents longing to be pregnant or clueless teens, we are all miracles waiting to fulfill an amazing destiny designed by God.
