The double meaning baptismal verse

Small Boy was baptised yesterday into the Swiss Protestant (Reformed) Church. It was a small affair, kept low key. R's brother is the Götte (godfather) and my friend RK is the Gotte (godmother). The baptism itself was performed by R's counsin who is a pastor in the church. When she baptised Small Boy, he pointed at the water and said "Wa-wa! Wa-wa!" (He also announced "all done!" every time the musician stopped playing - and during the middle of the sermon that he felt had gone on too long - and once pointed out the window at a cat and said "Meow" and generally was, um, animated. This, I imagine, is why most people baptize their babies as infants during what my friend P refers to as the "potted plant stage.")

It is traditional for the parents to select a "Taufspruch" - a baptismal verse that will be Small Boy's "special verse," a verse chosen because it speaks to us about him. We selected the 139th Psalm verses 13 and 14.

Du hast meine Organe geschaffen, hast mich im Mutterleib werden lassen. Ich danke dir, dass ich so herrlich geschafen bin. So wunderbar, staunenswert sind deine Werke. (Psalm 139,13-14)

For the English translation we took the Revised Standard version for the 13th verse and the King James for the 14th, so we ended up with:

You formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are thy works.

Is that not a great verse for an IVF baby? To those in the know, it gives a secret nod to the wonder of the science that allowed us to join sperm and egg while also making it clear that like every other child, Small Boy too is part of the magic of everything that happens between conception and birth. Dr. L and Herr G may have brought sperm and egg together in a petri dish, but the mystery of what happened after that is as old as time and it is a wonder. To be part of that wonder, to be counted among god's works, is Small Boy's inheritance, his birthright as a child of the universe and with this verse we claim that right for him. He is not a science experiment, not a freak or contrary to god's plan for us because we couldn't do it without help, not a child that "should not have been." He is a wonder, an ever changing wonder that makes my heart stop. He is as touched by god as any other child.

And how marvellous are thy works!