Spring is a time of wonderful things. Flowers bloom. Trees put on their beautiful new green dresses. There is evidence of new birth everywhere. In our church family we are waiting for two new babies to make their arrival. They are due less than a month apart. We can hardly wait to see their sweet faces and count their tiny fingers and toes. Who are they, and what will they be like? The new parents have decided not to find out their gender until birth so we don’t know that yet. But we love them already and are praying for them and their safe arrival. This situation reminds me of a passage in the Psalms:

For you created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your words 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 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

When a new baby is on the way, I like to pick out some pretty pastel yarn and get out my crochet hook to make a tiny welcoming blanket. As I was working on one recently, I thought about how I feel when I am making one. I like to try various patterns so that each blanket is unique. I love see the ball of yarn and then watch as the pattern begins to develop with the hook. Every stitch is deliberate and has to be exactly right for the pattern to develop as planned. I often pray for the baby and the expectant family as the yard passes through my fingers. When it is complete, I feel very happy. I think, “I love this! I can’t wait to give this beautiful gift that I have made!”

Maybe this is a reflection of how God feels as His fingers knit a life together in the quiet of the womb. He must delight in His creation, as he works the intricate pattern. When His plan is complete, perhaps He thinks, “I love this child! I can’t wait to give this beautiful gift to the waiting family!”

"Oh God, this is how you felt when you made me! When you made each of us!” I think so. Thank you so much for being a loving god who gives us good gifts.