I Will Praise Thee

Psalm 139:14-15 – I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (KJV)

Over the past eighteen months, I have gone through a number of changes. Some were good and some not, but all, both good and bad, brought a certain amount of stress and took their share of my mental energy. In such times, we often get caught in one of the whirlpools on the river of life, and feel confused and frustrated, and although I hate to admit it, we also forget that God is not only with us, but in us.

One of the changes that I'm working on is to seek out and follow through on writing opportunities. In doing so, I sign up for writing workshops that are designed to stimulate and encourage a writer to keep writing. It can be very difficult to do so on one's own. Through the workshop, I expected to be motivated, but I didn't expect to hear God's voice when my teacher read The Summer Day from The House of Light by the Canadian poet Mary Oliver. She read the poem and gave the class five minutes to write an answer that would be read aloud with no correction or rewriting. In the poem, the narrator asks, "Who made the grasshopper?" I would like to share my answer for those of you who, like me, get distracted and forget.

You ask who made me. The easy answer is in the image of Blake's Little Lamb or Tiger. But my soul says it is not so simple, for if we are made in His image, His perfection includes the blind, the lame and even the Leviathan; Not just the Leviathan from the sea but also the one from within — the one who roars when confronted by sin, the one who whines when disciplined by the consequences of her choice and the one who finally acquiesces to her lot and listens to the still, small voice in her heart. The voice says, "in the beginning was the word and the word is in you to use to the best of your ability. Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made."

My secular audience sat in silence while I read my answer. Since I'm visually impaired, I couldn't see the expression of my fellow writers. I can say that I did hear some sniffles. Frankly, I was surprised myself at the words that came back to me from the page. It was like finding a life-saving ring after losing it in a lake.

Prayer: Blessed Father, thank You for making us in Your image. The psalmist writes that You numbered our parts and wrote them in Your book before You knit us together in our mother's womb. Remind us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that You know our darkness before we even know what light and dark really are. Help us to know Your word and to listen when You speak. We ask these things in Your holy name, and we praise You for Your faithfulness. Amen.

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