LifeDate Winter 2025 – Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
by Michelle Bauman, Director of Y4Life
When I was little, my grandma taught me how to crochet. Though I’d like to think she did so because she wanted to pass along a beloved skill to her beloved granddaughter, I know, at least initially, her lessons were motived by more practical concerns.
The lessons began when I was six. Home from school with an ear infection, I was refusing to rest. (Who could possibly rest with such entertaining brothers?) My dad was at work; my mom was managing all three of us at home alone, and we weren’t making it easy. It quickly became clear that the best solution for obeying doctor’s orders was to separate me from my co-conspirators and send me to Grandma’s.
Grandma’s rule was simple: I could do whatever I wanted to—read, watch cartoons, sing, draw, or color—as long as I was lying down on the couch. But I was bored and wanted none of those things. So, my grandma took pity on me and taught me a craft I could get behind. She found a red #5 crochet hook, gave me a yellow skein of yarn, and showed me how to create a chain.
Unskilled but fiercely independent, I forged ahead. I spent the rest of the day lying on the couch creating a chain that eventually stretched from the living room to the kitchen and around the corner into my grandma’s bedroom. My stitches were lumpy and uneven, but they were mine.
My grandmother had an endless supply of yarn, and in the following months, I refined my new skill. I learned how to keep the tension steady, how to make the stitches even, how to create beautiful continuity no matter how thick the yarn.
And that was just the beginning. Over time, I learned other stitches. I discovered the joys of color and texture, the importance of counting, and the heartbreak of having to unfurl an entire piece because I missed a stitch.
Both encourager and corrector, Grandma pushed me to pursue joy and excellence as I handmade granny squares and trivets, doilies and blankets. And over time, the pieces I made became gifts. They began to mean something—to be made for a purpose. Each one of the gifts I designed held a whole lot of love and a little bit of me in them. Each was a pleasure to give.
I often think of my childhood when I read Psalm 139. I think of the joy of crafting a special gift for someone you love. Because that’s exactly what babies are—handcrafted gifts from God to us.
Psalm 139 speaks of this crafting like knitting—a close relative of crocheting. In just a few verses, we get an inside look at God’s creative process: New life isn’t thrown together quickly—it takes time. God works loop by loop and stitch by stitch to form and finish the masterpiece He has in mind.
The psalmist declares, “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.”
It does our soul good to know this—to know that God intentionally designed each one of us as gifts for this time and place. In fact, this knowledge shapes our identity; it gives us both value and purpose.
Yes, God decides when and where to bring life into the world; His hands intimately form each human being. God’s fingers twist together each strand of DNA and shape each cell. God connects tissue and bone; He ties together each bodily system and plans both the color and texture of each strand of hair. And it is God who weaves together body and soul—a whole work of art not only beautiful but also perfectly created for the purpose it was intended.
God is the first and best gift-giver; His gifts uphold and sustain life. Handmade for the people He loves, God’s gifts mean something. They’re made with a purpose. Each one of them carries His fingerprint, His pattern, His trademark.
You are a gift from God. You are handcrafted for your family, your church, your community, and your world. You were made with a whole lot of love and given to be a blessing to others.
And because God loves to craft, He’s made gifts for you, too. Your family, your friends, your teachers and pastors and coworkers—the list goes on and on.
Each person God brings into your life has been handmade with love.
Handmade with Love
That’s the phrase written on us from the moment we came to be.
Handmade with Love
Our bodies declare the mighty works of His hands.
Handmade with Love
Each human a gift to the world.