Day 37 - One in two hundred million

I recently caught the tail end of a wonderful story about a Cheshire family. Did you see it? It read as follows:

The parents of "one-in-200 million" identical triplet boys are reflecting on the "best but hardest job" as they celebrate their sons' first birthday. Gina Dewdney and her husband Craig were shocked when doctors at Liverpool Women's Hospital told them their naturally conceived babies were such a rare occurrence. When born the boys spent six weeks in hospital before going home.

Now Jimmy, Jensen and Jaxson are celebrating their milestone birthday. Mrs Dewdney, from Frodsham in Cheshire, said: "They've gone through so much already in their tiny little lives so it's going to be a big celebration for them and for us as well. Being a mum is the best job I've ever had. It's tough but I'm loving it, I really am."

My favourite part is the description of how they discovered they were expecting triplets: Gina Dewdney said she had an "inkling" she was having twins at first, which was later confirmed with a scan. Twenty minutes into the scan dad-to-be Craig said, “Is that a third head?” and there was total silence in the room.

It may have been a shock to discover that they were expecting twins, but then a third head pops up – wow! And for them to be identical triplets, amazing. A whole lifetime joined together through shared experiences and intertwined lives. They may be identical and connected and completely linked in ways we perhaps don’t understand, but they still are individuals formed in the womb in the image of the Creator. Praise God!

I remember when David Richards was the Congregational Federation Missioner at The Studio Project in Manchester. He was super talented at all things creative and worked closely with the local community and churches on artistic projects and showcases. One of his favourite passages of scripture was from Ephesians 2:8-10:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

For we are God’s masterpiece. That phrase has always stuck with me and inspired me. We are God’s magnum opus. His work of genius. We are God’s one in 200 million … no wait … we are God’s one in 7.9 billion. We are special. We are cherished. We are loved. We are called. What an amazing feeling that is.

Take a moment to let that sink, just sit in silence. Then use the opening words of Psalm 105 as a prayer:

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

Exult in his holy name;

rejoice, you who worship the Lord.

Search for the Lord and for his strength;

continually seek him.

Remember the wonders he has performed,

his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

you children of his servant Abraham,

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the Lord our God.

Psalm 105:1-7

Neil Chappell