For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13-14).
My family is a big fan of life. That's like a duh statement, right!?! My parents had kids a little later than some. Mom had a miscarriage between my older brother and myself. I like to think that God has a sister for me in Heaven, but I'm sure He probably blessed me with another brother. Someday, we will know. Jimbo was born right before Mom turned 40 and we decided to keep him. I think the parents got 2 votes and kids only got 1. Either way, we got him (and we love him.) I tried to get my parents to adopt a little sister for me when I was around the age of 9. My persuasive words were unsuccessful, even though I tried for many years. Somewhere along the way, my parents had instilled in me the value of life and not because it was a good thing, but because it was a God-thing. My mom was especially a fan of the outcast kid, the one who everyone else had given up on. She loved them. I think she tried to teach some of this compassion to her family, and it is a lesson we are still learning. In my family, we were taught to value and treasure all human life, because God, the Designer, creates and values life.
This truth has prompted one of my most enjoyable, compassion-learning experiences. Three to four years ago, God gave me the opportunity to work alongside a crisis pregnancy center for a student ministry event. Little did I know at the time, that He was softening my heart to learn to have compassion on others who needed to know of the grace of God. I'm not really the normal crisis pregnancy volunteer. I don't have tough story from my past where I can related to girls in crisis pregnancy situations. I realized that I didn't need a tough situation to rest in the truth that each life God gives is valuable and a perfect Creator does not make mistakes. I just needed a heart of compassion - God's still working on that in my life. :) In true Kelly fashion, as I have been told so many times, "If you miss the lesson, you missed the point of why God has you in that place..." These are lessons I have learned from the crisis pregnancy center (I'm sure there are many more):
- The power of the Gospel is the only thing that changes life.
- The grace of God extends beyond any crisis, any sin.
- The Gospel must be preached to myself before it can be shared with others.
- All our dependency is on the Lord as He is the Sustainer of life.
Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand and perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing
Priceless work of art
-Fingerprints of God, Steven Curtis Chapman.
"Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well."
No comments:
Post a Comment