LESSONS FROM THE TABLE OF LIFE
Sharing God with those who are wondering

LIFE LESSON
He first touched our lives when He created us, whether we believe or not.
Controversial Beginning
Thirty-year-old Ida McGuire answered the loud, persistent knock on the door, to see her mother, two of her sisters, and a young niece standing on the steps. She listened without argument as her mother reminded her that the baby, to whom Ida would give birth in just a couple of months, was conceived not only out of wedlock but also with a married man. To make the situation worse, the conception happened with Ida’s consent under the same roof where the man lived with his wife.
As her mother talked about adultery, sin, God, and the shame she was bringing to her family in their small Midwestern town, Ida remained silent. She offered no excuse or protest when her mother suggested that the best solution for everyone would be if Ida left the area to have her baby. Her sisters affirmed their mother’s concerns and disapproval. Ida did not invite them in, nor did she go after them when they left. She did, however, pack her simple belongings and left the area, leaving her family and the man she loved behind.
Taking her mother’s unwanted advice, she moved into a home for unwed mothers. In 1945, Ida gave birth to a healthy and robust baby. “Baby girl McGuire” was written on the birth certificate, and Ida listed a married man as the father. I was the result of this affair.
Many years would pass before I would know the origin of my birth, and many more years before I would understand that even though I was conceived in sin, God created me, knew me, and loved me even then.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb (Psalms 139:13)”
LIFE LESSON APPLIED
When my mother was twenty-five years old, she answered an ad stuck on the bulletin board in the cafe where she worked. A horse trader in the area was looking for someone to care for his two children. Their mother was often hospitalized for long periods of time, and she had no family to help her. My mother stayed with them for five years and fell in love with the horse trader. After my birth, my mother stayed in North Dakota; and sometime later that year my father divorced his first wife. My parents lived together until they got married in 1946, two month after my first brother was born. They would go on to have five more children, three girls and two boys. They loved one another, but their love suffered with years of poverty, illness, and hardship.
My father became ill and unable to support his family, so we went on welfare. My mother withdrew into True Confession magazines, which we kids would bring home from the local dump. Being depressed, Ida struggled to care for us. We were unkempt and undisciplined. As we grew older, the tension in our house grew greater.
Since my father was against religion, my parents did not attend church. He had grown up in a strict religious home, and did not believe there was a God. He became angry and bitter, lashing out with words and a willow stick. The most painful thing he would say to me was, “This is all your fault; if you wouldn’t have come along, none of this would have happened.” I believed him, and I took the shame of being conceived in sin as my fault. I felt worthless and took responsibility for everything wrong in the home. I allowed others to ridicule and belittle me, and believed that I deserved to be punished. My mother never corrected my father or told me differently, as she was carrying her own shame of having disappointed her mother.
But God had other plans. It is a wild stretch of the imagination to think that God, the Supreme Being, created us and knitted us in our mothers’ wombs. I did not understand as a child, teenager, or young adult. He was not real to me until my early forties, when I began to read the Bible. My life was a mess: I had gone through a divorce, my business was failing, and I was desperate. One day I cried out to God and asked for His help. My heart began to soften toward Him, and I became open to learning who He is and who I am with Him in my life.
At first it was hard for me to accept that I was created by God, because I thought He had done a bad job. Even though I study His Word and mature in my faith, I still do not yet totally understand why He made me as I am, but I have decided to take Him at His Word. His Word tells me that He created me “in His own image (Genesis 1:27)”, that I am “wonderfully and fearfully made (Psalm 139:14)”, and that He engraved me on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).”
I see now how He was with me all along, how He reached out to me through hard times even when I did not think there could be a God. He never gave up on me, and now He is my Heavenly Father. My desire is to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly (Micah 6:8)” with Him every day for the rest of my life, praising Him for creating me just as I am: unique and His!
Let me tell you a little secret. He has done the same for you. He created you in your mother’s womb and has a unique plan for your life.