But From Them God Weaves a Masterpiece

You may or may not be familiar with the story of Gianna Jessen. Gianna, 32, is a public speaker and Christian singer. She has several conspicuous gifts, among them an angelic voice, infectious enthusiasm, and a passionate, persuasive way of getting her point across.

She also walks with a light but unmistakable limp, caused, she explains, by cerebral palsy. Growing up, Gianna had asked her adoptive mother Diana often why God let her have cerebral palsy, and Diana had always explained that she had been born premature.

But once when Gianna demanded to know more, Diana relented. In April 1977, a 17-year-old girl who was in her third trimester of pregnancy entered a California abortion clinic and was given a saline injection that she was told would abort her baby in 24 hours. But after 18 hours she delivered the baby - burned and oxygen-deprived by the saline, yet alive. A nurse called for an ambulance, which rushed the infant girl, who weighed just 2 pounds, to a hospital, where she continued to cling to life.

Later, in the state's foster care system, the baby girl went from home to home until Penny - Diana's mother - took her in. In Penny's home Gianna was loved, and she learned to know Jesus; and when Diana adopted her, Gianna became a permanent member of a Christian family.

Initially, no one had expected Gianna ever to be able to lift her head - but she did. Or crawl - but she did. Or walk - but she did. Today, despite the cerebral palsy she encountered at birth, Gianna runs marathons. She speaks out against abortion and promotes the virtues of chastity at youth events. She describes herself as "unashamedly Christian" and cannot contain the joy she knows in Jesus.

Are there dark threads in the tapestry of your life? Perhaps they do not include cerebral palsy. Maybe you have not had to bounce from foster home to foster home. And possibly you have not had to wonder why your birth mother rejected you.

Still, your trials are real, and sometimes it's hard to understand why you must endure them. It's hard, too, to guess what good can possibly come out of them.

God knows. God, who promises that all things work together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28); who sent His Son to carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4); who will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4), knows every detail and is at work in it to bless you and make His glory known.

May God, who can turn the darkest threads of an unwanted baby's life to the silver and gold of a life in His love and grace, reveal to you how He is weaving even your darkest days into a masterpiece of light, color, and splendor.

We thank God for your faithful support! Your gifts enable Lutheran Hour Ministries to share our Savior's love in a myriad of ways with people who desperately need to hear it.