Yesterday was a contemplative day…one of soft, gray being. That evening I sat and read Nancy Tillman’s book, On the Night You Were Born, with Henry. The fly leaf reads
For you are fearfully and wonderfully made…
PSALMS 139
He asks me what that means.
“You are magnificent,” I tell him.
“God chose every thing about you to be you. He chose every last little bit of you.”
“Even my hair?” he asks me.
“Even your hair.”
“Your hair
and your eyes
and your FRECKLES!
And your nose
and your ears.
You are perfect. You are just how God wanted you to be.”
He smiles.
I read.
On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you
and the night wind whispered,
“Life will never be the same.”
Because there had never been anyone like you…
ever in the world.
“Did you know that, Henry? Did you know there has never been anyone, ever, like you?”
“Is that true?”
“It’s true. And there never will be anyone like you, ever again.”
“Welllll….Ella is kind of like me because of her hair.”
“Yes. But she’s a girl.”
“Yeah.”
For never before in story or rhyme
(not even once upon a time)
has the world ever known a you, my friend,
and it never will, not ever again…
And my voice shook, just ever so slightly, as I finished
Heaven blew every trumpet
and played every horn
on the wonderful, marvelous
night you were born.
And there was a sparkle in his eyes that was not there before, I’m sure of it. And right at that moment, he knew how much he was loved.
no small thing 
I’m crying…in a good way. You knew just what to do…Henry is so blessed to have you.
Thank you for this. I read the post before this, and teared up. Because that is the day I fear the most. The day when Nolan wakes up and wonders why he is different. And you have found the perfect answer, the one that is truthful-he is wonderfully and fearfully made. I must find that book.
And find some Kleenex.
This is marvelous. Magnificent, even! 🙂
I find myself crying sometimes when I’m reading books to my kids that are either explicitly or surprisingly moving. They always look at me with a mixture of fear and tenderness. I hope that in that mixture, they know they are loved.
I’ve got goosebumps. So sweet.
it.gives.me.chills. i love children’s books. have you tried the little prince by st. auxpery?
your post was so beautifully put together, and you seem such a wonderful, patient, loving mother. your children are lucky! 🙂
What a wonderful story – Yours and the one that you were reading. 🙂
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again, there is no doubt in my mind that God knew what he was doing when he gave Henry to you and David – you are amazing parents!
You are such a good mom, you know that? 🙂 I could just picture it all… and I cried. Such beauty.
Oh. This is just what I want to read to Kaish tonight. Really. Just exactly. And I will read it to Gary too. And anyone that is feeling blue. God made each one special. Each and every one.
Beautiful. Poetic. Sincere. That’s how life should truly be.
This is like my favorite book of all time. I cry every time I read it to my son, who just turned 2. I found it last year for his birthday to start reading it to him as a sort of b-day tradition, but no matter how many times I read it, I get choked up because it’s simply perfect and so beautifully expresses how miraculous each precious life is. Thanks for sharing your moment. Touching,
Beautiful. Love how well you have captured these precious moments. I found your blog and this post while searching for the biblical verse (Psalm 139) I refer to in my recent post. It is a lovely book. All of hers seem to help remind me of the important things I need to tell my sons at the end of a long, full day.