Living Open-Handed: Devotions for Surrendering Control and Finding Joy in the Unexpectedናሙና

Nothing About You Is a Mistake

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. PSALM 139:14

The other day, I met a woman whose kiddo has a disability too, and she told me Psalm 139:14, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” really bothers her. There would be so many conventional things her child would miss out on. How in the world could God have made her child fearfully and wonderfully?

Fearfully, when translated from Hebrew, means “with great reverence, heartfelt interest, and with respect.” Wonderfully, when translated from Hebrew, means “unique and set apart.” So it’s not exactly the way we understand it in English.

We can grieve earthly things we wanted for our children or ourselves that may not happen AND believe they are fearfully and wonderfully made. This is also something to remember about kids who look “typical” on paper. Just because things appear less complex doesn’t mean they will partake in every societal milestone or fulfilling role.

Verse 13 of the same psalm, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb,” vividly represents intention. It’s a technique. It’s slow and steady. It’s peaceful and purposeful. The hands that do it must be patient, skilled, and stable. Every person was made with that gravity of intention—fearfully and wonderfully!

When the woman I met looked at me for a response, I paused and told her two things could be true. Like most things in life, it doesn’t have to be either/or. You can grieve expectations and dreams you had AND believe your child was intentionally created—fearfully and wonderfully. She smiled at me and said, “That’s something to chew on.”

Dear God, if I do not treat myself or others like one who is fearfully and wonderfully made, help me with Your Holy Spirit to change that. Amen.

Reflect: Do you treat yourself as one who is fearfully and wonderfully made? Or are the voices of criticism, self-doubt, and insecurity louder? What about someone else in the kingdom of God who has hurt you? What would it take to see them that way too?