Knitted Together in the Dark

Psalm 139 has a lot of really good stuff in it about God's omnipresence (the attribute he has to be able to be everywhere, at all times), but in verses 13-16 David talks about God forming him before he was born. He uses words like "knitted me together in my mother's womb," and "when I was being made in secret," and "intricately woven in the depths of the earth." It's a beautiful passage, and it adds to my "theology of darkness" that I've been thinking about lately.

The image in my mind is such an intimate one. God the Father, in the dark, putting a little baby together. He's done this billions of times before, but each time, no matter what his will has in store for this person, he gets to spend the very first moments with this baby alone, in the quiet, in the dark, weaving and knitting in all the elements of personality, spiritual gifts that may or may not be activated one day, talents, and yes, even predispositions to certain sins. It's quiet work, it's beautiful work, and it happens in the dark. (On a side note, I'm wondering if this could be why one of my favorite things to do is to babysit a little baby that's fussy, and getting to go sit with it, in the dark, in the rocking chair, and just talk and pray for him/her. Maybe it's because that's a little glimpse of what God does with us before we're an embryo,fetus, or whatever.)

Now, here's the thing: we may not always like some of the things that are woven into us. There are plenty of things in my own life that I wish God hadn't chosen to include in his knitting. Yet, there is a tremendous sense of peace and hope that comes in knowing he selected each one for a purpose, and that he knows every single thread used and has complete control over them all. What a wonderful thing that is happening, even right now all over the world. . . in complete darkness.