On Precious Thoughts

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you” (Psalm 139:13-18, ESV).

 A few weeks ago, I was working up the courage to tackle my inbox when my phone was suddenly overtaken by a FaceTime from my big brother. I answered to 5/6 of my family on the other end asking me to settle a debate: which sweatshirt was best?

The first said “Good sisters get promoted to Aunt” and the other said “Auntie”—but super retro. I started to note that the obvious answer was the retro design.

And then it hit me…

… at last.

Squawking, convulsion, and soul tears—-whatever the stages of Joy are, I repeatedly went through them all in 10-minute increments. A prestigious promotion. My baseline of coolness, forever raised — I am an aunt.

It took several weeks for me to put a finger on the revelation. This doesn’t quite capture it, but the discovery was like living in a house for 22 years and one day discovering a new room.

But besides the obvious automatic Aunt Love with which this child will always be lavished and adored without question, I found another delight flooding my heart—the excitement of a super fan whose favorite Artist has just created a new masterpiece. A new life (that we’ll refer to as “Baby Baer” for a few more months) has been called into existence. 11/10 spectators see and agree that it’s good. This baby is an ineffably precious invention of God’s.

The reverence with which we consider God’s thoughts stains every single aspect of our lives.

There is not a soul on this planet, loved or ignored, that was not first thought of by God and called into existence by Him. He picked the setting, chose the rods of color, and placed presence in the eyes of the person we love most, the person we hate most, the person who annoys us most, and even that one person we think is weird. They walk the earth because He meant for them to.

Marriage, gender, personality, law, worship, the sun and moon—these were His ideas. Individuals, their skills, their hearts, they were called to being.

And you. You are God’s idea. When God called you into being, He did not stutter.

We look to the Word of God, not just for identity, but for hope. When Jesus said “It is finished,” He spoke with the same authority over reality as when He called forth stars from nothing.

This changes how we see the world—doesn’t it? It seems to go without saying, but sometimes it’s worthwhile to just take a moment and remember that God’s ideas are good. To bask and take courage in the sacred heart, selfless passion, and sober genius of God’s work. The same God who called light out of darkness calls new lives into being every day, and calls us to new life in Him.

The Psalmist writes “Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” What a precious thing to know—to know in your very soul that all of God’s works are wonderful.