“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

These precious verses are a part of the pro-life advocate’s arsenal of scripture texts pointing to the value and authenticity of human life starting at conception. And I believe that! I’ve given it a lot of thought because it is a good thing to think about scripture and “plumb it’s depths” in respect to life in this world. I have found by doing that, I have a choice to believe what I hear and see – or trust what God says in His Word, sometimes without the visible evidence.

For instance, I believe that I had been “knit together in my mother’s womb,” but when I got out, I was pretty broken up by life (and death) happening around me. I spent most of my life trying to be what others expected of me rather than settling into who I am and who God created me to be. I did not understand that I was letting other people, and their beliefs and opinions, define who I “should” be and what I should think. …it was more important to me to (attempt) to please people who I could see, but didn’t have a clue about pleasing God who I couldn’t see.

Having a “rough go of it” at the beginning and throughout my life didn’t help matters any.

About three and a half years ago I had a stroke and that was the beginning of a wake-up call for me. I decided that whatever led to that moment, I wanted to do something different from then on. Of course, that was not a sudden realization, but one I grew into. I made some changes, and some changes were made for me (because I was clueless about how to make them). And recently, I’ve concluded that I like God’s plans for me (a new creation. with a future and a hope) because they are a whole lot better than anything I (or anyone else) could come up with.

But what about it? Can a person be too broken to be used by God? I used to think so; however, my opinion has gradually changed (very gradually, I’m 74) over the years. The focus of what I write about is God; and in His great love and mercy through Jesus, He is redeeming the broken and scattered bits of each person and making a New Creation out of them:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

For some of us it takes a long time, but we always have this assurance:

“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1:6)

And:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

What if – here’s a crazy thought – God didn’t quit knitting us together and forming us when we were born; instead, He has used, and is using, all the bumps and bruises, the physical, mental, and emotional wounds, defeats – and victories – to be the exact kind of person He wants in this world, “…and who knows whether you have not come…for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

There are several things that I have learned:

• The evil one means us harm – he’d like us to just “curse God and die;” and he doesn’t play fair. In fact, “…your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

• A way to distract and disorient the devil is to offer praise and give thanks to God in all things: “rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! …don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Positive evidence that we are trusting God, no matter what our circumstances look like, is our willingness to praise Him and give Him thanks even in the tough times. It isn’t easy, but I think that is where the “hard-fought Hallelujah” comes from.

• If you are familiar with the life of Joseph in Genesis, you are aware that things went quite bad for him for a while. His brothers weren’t all too kind to him; in fact, some of them wanted him dead. However, later in life he was able to look them in the eyes and say, “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. Therefore, don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” (Genesis 50:20-21)

• Sometimes it may not look like it or feel like it but we have this assurance from our Father: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

There is no one and nothing so broken that a skilled potter cannot make something beautiful, and useful, out of it. We are more that just lumps of clay!

“Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.”  (Isaiah 64:8)