I have called you by name, you are mine.
ISAIAH 43:1
As the thundering sounds slowly subsided into gentle echoes, Margaret looked over and gave me a bright smile, showing all of her perfect white teeth. It did wonders to calm my pounding heart. Then, without another word, she raised her hands toward the sky and began to recite a portion of one of my favorite psalms.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
As she finished, Margaret said, “You, Jennifer, were fearfully and wonderfully made, for each child is a unique and precious creation of heaven. I think this is a very good place to start—tell me about your beginning.”
And so I began. “I was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the wee hours of the morning. At the same moment, some two hundred miles away in Anderson, Indiana, my grandmother, whom we called Nana, was awakened in her bedroom by a voice exclaiming, ‘Mother!’ Nana sat up, startled, because the voice she heard sounded remarkably like my mother calling out to her. She knew immediately that she had to get on a train to make the journey to Detroit. I have often wondered: Was it an angel who spoke to Nana as I was being born?”
I peered over at my new friend, hoping for an answer, but Margaret only nodded for me to continue.
“This strange type of mysterious communication happened at the very beginning of my life, and has occurred throughout my life with startling frequency. My mother has a vivid memory that she has shared with me on more than one occasion. I was not more than five years old, riding in the car with her. Sitting in the backseat, I let out one of my signature squeaky yawns—a yawn accompanied by a not very ladylike sound, like a door opening on creaky old hinges. My mother playfully exclaimed, ‘Jennifer! What was that?’ I replied very matter-of-factly, ‘That was God talking.’ If I had only known how prophetic this statement would be.”
Margaret burst out in a merry fit of laughter. “Oh, I’m so sorry for interrupting. That just reminded me of how often I heard that funny squeak coming from you at the most inopportune moments while you were growing up. Please keep going.”
I chuckled, a little embarrassed at the memory, and continued.
“Even as a very young child, I sensed that somehow God could talk to people, and he was talking to me.”
Margaret sighed and said, “It seems like just yesterday you were that sweet little girl with the squeaky yawn. As young as you were, you were just beginning to sense a wonderful truth: God speaks. This was the start of a lifetime of learning for you—learning to hear, to listen, to obey, and to discern the truths he reveals in your dreams.”
“You’re right about the lifetime of learning part, Margaret, because I am still learning,” I agreed. “I’m afraid I’m not much better than any of my dogs—sometimes I listen and sometimes, well, there are lots of times when it is easier not to listen.”
My angel grinned and reached down to pet Cody, who had wandered back over to nuzzle his new friend. He laid his head on her lap and let her scratch behind his ears. I watched with amusement . . . he was the most hardheaded of my dogs, yet I had a feeling he would listen to anything she told him to do.
“Jenn, God will never stop speaking to you, or to any of his children. Even when you are not listening,” Margaret said with a knowing smile. “God is a patient and persistent teacher, my dear. And he has instructed me to provide you with personal messages from him along our journey—messages to encourage you and to instruct your heart.
“So, as you reflect upon your earliest days—and that little girl with the squeaky yawn who sensed her Creator’s voice—hear now what God was saying to his fearfully and wonderfully made creation:
“Welcome to your life on earth, my precious little one. I have so much to share with you!”