I Loved You Before I Knew You

The Nativity of John the Baptist

You formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb. Psalms 139:13

I burned my finger pretty bad while I was fixing dinner last night and I was nursing it on some ice. My daughter got up and whispered in my ear, "Offer it up to God Mommy." Oh my gosh. If I could only explain the joy I felt when I heard those words of wisdom coming from my seven-year-old's mouth. I smiled, tears welled up in my eyes, and I said, "Yes, honey, you're right. I will definitely do that." So I did.

We continued to eat and soon after I took my finger off the ice, it would start to burn again, fiercely. So my daughter says, "Mommy, offer it up to God!" I told her that I had already done it in my head. I told her I said a prayer in my mind to God. She kind of looked at me. I told her that God knows what is in our hearts and our minds. She and my son liked that and they started talking about it. It developed into a conversation about babies. I told them that God knew them before anyone and that He knows everything about them. He knew what color hair they were going to have, and He even knows how they will live their lives. He knows everything about us, and it is His plan we follow.

This passage reminded me of this. The first time I heard it was when I was going through my conversion to being pro-life. The ever-conflicting definition of when life actually begins continues on and on and on. It not only begins at conception, but actually before. God begins developing us before we're actually formed. To imagine that is just mind boggling. But it's so comforting to know that God loved me before He even formed my being. We feel like that when we're trying to conceive, don't we? We love our children even before we even know them. The anticipation of being able to carry my child in my womb, and then care for them outside of, is a blessing in and of itself. Imagine the live God must have for us. It is because of that love that I want to do His Will at every moment I can.

Lord, thank you for the love you have given me. Help me to do Your Will with the life you have blessed me with.

Daily Readings:
Isaiah 49:1-6 Psalms 139:1-3, 13-15 Acts 13:22-26 Luke 1:57-66, 80