Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

When I think of how complex and intricate the body is, it is amazing to me that I am alive at all, let alone that things work as well as they do. Truly, I am wonderfully made. And so are you! Of course with so much going on, it is not surprising that things go wrong sometimes, and here is the fearful part: we all know that we are mortal, that just as our lives have a beginning, so also they will one day have an end. But the fear cannot easily be separated from the wonder, or the wonder from the fear. If we were immortal, our time would not be precious. Because we are mortal, when we offer each other the gift of time, it is a precious gift, it is THE precious gift, the gift that makes us fearfully and wonderfully made.  Part of the wonder of the way we are made is that we share these fearfully and wonderfully made bodies, that we cling together in families and communities and congregations to help each other face our fear, and that the wonder of it helps us to deal with the fear, and the fear of it increases our wonder. We are indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and for that I offer thanks and praise.