Patrick and I had the privilege of meeting a baby tonight who was born 10wks early. His mommy, a very good friend of mine, was only 30wks pregnant when her water broke. The nurses and doctors did what they could to stop labor, but little Josiah had decided he was going to be born regardless of what anyone did and so he showed up much earlier than anybody expected. Thankfully, he was born without a stressful birth and is doing as well as he can considering he should still be cooking inside mom.

This is the first time I have seen a baby in the NICU. I'm not sure anything can prepare you for seeing such a tiny person with so many tubes and wires coming out of them.

His parents can't hold him for at least a week as his skin and muscles are extremely sensitive. They could bruise him to the point of hemorrhage because his blood vessels are not strong enough for the pressure of a touch. He is able to get enough oxygen on his own, but he is still hooked up to an apparatus that "reminds" him to breath. He can't swallow so so his nutrients come from an IV. When the breathing apparatus is removed he'll have mom's breast milk through a feeding tube for his first month. His eyes have to be taped shut while he is getting light therapy for his jaundice because his retinas are not developed enough.

So many things that still have to grow, to develop and become complete. So many things that could still go wrong.

Yet, as I looked at him, all I could think was, "fearfully and wonderfully made." How perfectly God had put this child together. God gave him ten fingers, ten toes, a squishy nose and cherub lips. Already, his parents can see Josiah's fighting spirit as he pulls at the air tube and IV wires. His neonatal nurse calls him a "Wild Man" and says she can hear him screaming from down the hall, even when is incubator lid is closed! God knew all along that little Josiah would come into this world earlier than we deemed ready. But this is part of the story of Josiah's life. A story God has already written out. God has given him the best birthday, the best parents, the best beginning in His design.

May we treat each person we encounter, especially those in our own family, as one who God has fearfully and wonderfully made - regardless of the things we see that still need to grow, to develop and become complete. Or the things we see that could still go wrong. Let us always see them as perfectly created by God and the part they play in His story.