Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

“I think your son has a syndrome.” This is what the hospital physician shared with me just hours after my son’s birth. That day my life changed forever. Little did I know then that I had just entered the world of “special needs”: daily therapy appointments (OT /PT/speech) doctor visits, surgeries, and hospitalizations.

As I sat alone hearing this devastating news, I knew I desperately needed to talk with someone. My husband was at home catching up on the sleep he had missed over the last 48 hours, so I turned to God and his Word. Finding Psalm 139:13–16, I read:

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 . . .

God reminded me with these verses that it was it was He who had carefully framed and made my son and that His works were wonderful. Nathan was not a mistake but a chance for God to be glorified though His work of wonder. I continued to read in verses 15 and 16:

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.

God also affirmed to me that not only did He know my son intimately, but He also had a plan for him as well. I might not always know or understand what that would be, but I knew that I could trust the Creator God with the plan He had for my precious infant son.

Armed with this reminder of God’s sovereignty and goodness, I walked down the long hospital hall to the nursery to gather up in my arms my “wonderfully made” son.

That was 33 years ago. Today, Nathan continues to reveal to me how wonderful are God’s works! Nathan loves the Lord and delights in serving as our Awana mascot, Cubbie Bear. He is a hugger who likes telling jokes, beating me at thumb wars, and bringing friends of all abilities to church.

Patty Herrera

Patty and her husband, Steve, and son, Nathan, live in Shingle Springs, California. They attend Foothills Church where Patty has served the past 14 years as the Director of Children’s Ministry. Patty is a former teacher of the deaf at the California School for the Deaf, has worked as a Program Specialist for San Bernardino County Schools, and taught graduate courses at California State University, San Bernardino. Her greatest thrill is seeing children of all abilities come to know Jesus as their Savior. She can be contacted at [email protected]

One Response to “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”

  1. Wow! Thank you for your wonderful perspective of all of God’s children! Loved what you said, “Nathan was not a mistake but a chance for God to be glorified though His work of wonder.”May we all see children and adults through the lenses of God’s eyes and not our own!

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