I’m probably not the only one who took for granted the incredibly brilliant and creative design of pregnancy until it happened to me. I’ve experienced many physical changes over the past 8½ months and I have been awed to learn about what has gone on within me. It has completely changed my perspective on God and his involvement in my life.

Faith does not come naturally to me. I am a person who has always been prone to doubting and questioning God. For a long time I floundered between believing that He was vaguely aware of my life from a distance and that He did not exist at all. When I did acknowledge His presence, I related to him as subject to master, often feeling scolded and constantly skeptical of the notion that God is interested in the details of my life. Becoming pregnant has transformed my heart and mind.

I am glad to live in an age where an abundance of information about pregnancy is available. I imagine that women of ancient times were amazed at the process, but as the majority of the changes are internal, it seems that for the most part, the progression of pregnancy would remain a mystery. I am very thankful that I have the privilege of reading many detailed accounts describing the remarkable work my body is doing internally to bring another human into being. The new developments I read about each week never cease to astonish me. As of this week, 2 weeks from my due date, my baby’s miniature and incredibly complex organ systems are complete and her lungs mature.

I believe the processes of conception, pregnancy, and childbirth are not the result of evolution, but are intentional and purposeful designs set into place by an omniscient Creator. The system for bringing forth new life could be different. Babies could be carried within the male body or they could grow from the ground. The familiar design of a new life growing within a woman for approximately nine months is the best design, and I love how it feels to be a part of something so wondrously ordained by God.

Colossians 1:15-17 affirms that God not only created everything in Heaven and on earth, but He continues to hold everything together. That thought is so beautiful to me. Generations upon generations of the human race do not stay alive without the hands of God being continuously involved. This is why I believe that He is intimately involved in what is happening within me. It would be impossible for me to deny His existence or His interest in our finest details now. My pregnancy has given me evidence of the unseen, and for that I will be forever thankful.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)