Elizabeth Grace was born October 23rd, 2009. She was 8 pounds, 9 ounces, 21 inches long, and had a smile that would light up the world. I have watched all 5 of my children being born, and every time I am in wonder at the creation of life. Every parent out there can understand what I am saying when they held their new born child for the first time in their hands. The only words that can describe the moment come from Psalm 139:14, I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. God has made each and everyone of us in a marvelous way. The month of January is Pro-Life month. It is not just a month in which we mourn for the over 63,000,000 babies have been aborted since Roe vs Wade. It is also a month to celebrate life — to remember where we came from. We did not come from a bunch of monkeys or apes, but from God. I can tell you that I am not anyone’s monkey’s uncle. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man in his own image… male and female created he them. I was not an accident, and my daughter was not an accident. Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and you are alive today because God wanted to create you. Isaiah 44:2 says, “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb….”  Listen, it doesn’t matter if your parents were good or bad, or you were an illegitimate child. In God’s mind, there is no such thing as an unplanned child. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you’re an accident or you don’t belong. Parents only play a small part in the baby making process. Without God reaching down and breathing a living spirit into that baby, human life would not exist. God’s fingerprints were all over Elizabeth when she came out of her mother’s womb. Every baby is a miracle, because God is the one that possesses you in the womb. Psalm 139:13, 15 and 16 says, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned…”

The word “possess” in verse thirteen means to control. God controlled our reins inside of the womb. Just like a man on a horse is in control as he holds on to the reigns. God is involved in every detail of your creation. Every handicapped, blind, mentally disabled  child or adult is also fearfully and wonderfully made by God. They are made in His image too. Every person matters, because God says they matter. God is Pro-Life. So shouldn’t we be too?

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Matthew Spoonhour is pastor of First Baptist Church, Monroe.