New babies are remarkable, even miraculous. I believe God is personally involved in creating each one as unique, meaning he or she is unlike anyone else who ever lived or will live. Even identical twins, difficult to tell apart on the outside, are one-of-a-kind on the inside.

Our little Micah Nathan, approaching eight weeks, has already made his likes and dislikes known. He can’t tell us in words, but by way of facial expressions or periods of fussing/contentment, he states his personal opinions. For example, he prefers facing forward in someone’s arms to looking over their shoulder.

He also favors the vibrating infant seat over the swing. He’s thumbs-up on bath time but thumbs-down on Skylar’s loud noises. But his absolute all-time favorite is bouncing on the giant exercise ball. No matter what condition he’s in, whether tired or rested, fussy or copasetic, moving up and down on the ball is Micah’s version of a great time.

And so we are all on the ball!

What’s the explanation for such a tiny child being so sure of what he likes? The only logical answer is that it’s woven into the multi-faceted DNA of each baby long before we get acquainted with him or her. Science has only recently begun to understand the complete story of DNA, coming up with the double-helix structure we’re familiar with in the 1950’s. Even with this extraordinary discovery, there is probably far more they still don’t understand than what they do.

While traveling to Florida and back during recent weeks, I’ve been working on knitting sweaters for my five grandbabies. (The British twins will debut any day now!) In my effort to control the yarn, I’ve often ended up with a snarl and must stop knitting to untangle it. But I look at a strand of DNA with its turned ladder structure, so tiny that it’s invisible to the human eye, and marvel that there are no snarls or knots. This is one of the many differences between my work and God’s. Mine tangles; his doesn’t.

Although our work is vastly different, God and I are both knitters. He’s told me so in the Bible, and as he goes about the business of weaving together a baby’s human genes, I believe the complicated double helix of DNA is what he’s knitting. I’m thankful he doesn’t make any mistakes as he goes along, no dropped stitches or strings wrapped backwards. Although I’m following the same pattern for all five of my little sweaters, God creates a new pattern for each individual.

Micah’s older sister Skylar is also quite clear on her likes and dislikes, at 20 months. Dramatically clear. Thankfully one of her likes is Micah. And as she sees the rest of us on the ball, she’s learned to be on the ball, too.

”For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)