January 2

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

           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.  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.  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.      

                 Psalm 139: 13-16

Creation is an awe-inspiring thing.  The power of the waves…the grandeur of the mountains…the detail and diversity of the plants and animals of this world have the innate ability to humble humanity and remind us of how small and insignificant we are.  We are but a speck in this massive world and our world is but a speck in the greater cosmos.

Into this perspective, God speaks.  Instead of being insignificant, we are described as intricately created…painstakingly crafted by God in every minute detail.  The Master Craftsman has contemplated every aspect of our form in order to create His masterpiece.  He has formed us specifically to complete all that He has assigned for the duration of our days.  We are called Fearfully and Wonderfully made…as intricately created and awe-inspiring as anything else in creation.

That is all well and good, but what do we do with those who find themselves in the special needs community?  Can I really look at someone who is wheelchair-bound or incapable of speech or blind and say that God has made them perfectly?  Can I look at someone on the autism spectrum or someone who will die early from a birth defect and say that they are an awe-inspiring creation?

Yes.  Oh, God yes.

Just because a person is not the picture of perfect mental and physical health does not mean that they are a mistake.  God created us as more than physical beings.  He has granted us a mind and a soul and often those are magnified in those who are called special needs.  I have met grown men who will never achieve more than a 2^nd grade education who can light up an entire room with their presence.  I have seen a woman who has never spoken and never walked teach her typical-peers joy and hope.  I have seen a beautiful little girl who had less than 900 days on earth transform a community.  If that is not awe-inspiring, I do not know what is.  God sometimes crafts beautifully broken vessels who are tasked with reshaping their world in unconventional and extraordinary ways.  They are the definition of Fearfully and Wonderfully made.

A moment to reflect:

Think of the beautifully broken people in your life.  How has God uniquely gifted them to bless the world?

Fridge Picture of the Day:

D age 8