You are AWESOME…believe it!

The phrase, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” from Psalm 139 does not mean what you think it does.

The word fearfully is misunderstood and misinterpreted as being fearful of God. That fear of God transmutes into fear of punishment which translates into being consigned to a fiery hell beneath the Earth where one must spend eternity for disobeying God. Fear is an emotion of anxiety and insecurity generated by our reptilian brain which has little to do with our creation as individual sparks of divinity.

So, it is important to realize that the Hebrew word that is translated “fearfully” is yare. In Hebrew, it means “to be in awe.” To be “fearfully” made means to be “awesomely” made.

Speaking of awesomely made, I must return to the story of my son Johnny. Awesome is his favorite word. He doesn’t know the etymology of the word, but he knows it is a good word.

From a young age, we used to compliment Johnny with awesome, for basically everything he did. Being autistic, every little thing he did was an achievement worthy of the accolade awesome. For example, there is nothing awesome about a 15-year-old boy tying his shoes. It is normal and expected. But when that boy is autistic, it is a big deal. It is awesome.

So, for Johnny, awesome is the word that captures all the good things in life. He does not know the synonyms of that word — magnificent, marvelous, remarkable, phenomenal, astounding, staggering, breathtaking, stunning, stupendous, or outstanding — but he knows awesome contains all that and more.

So awesome became the catchphrase of his life for everything that is good, holy, happy, joyful, wonderful, and peaceful. He cannot handle his parents or anybody around him being upset or unpleasant. If we get upset about something that he did, he will look into our eyes, and say: awesome…? and until we say awesome back, he won’t leave us alone.

He uses it so freely and frequently that it can be annoying sometimes. For example, we will be driving somewhere, and Judy and I will be talking, and I will say, “let’s go shopping on Saturday,” and Johnny will say, no shopping, because he thinks if we go shopping, he won’t be able to go to his soccer game.

He doesn’t have the ability to figure out that shopping can be in the morning, and we will take him for soccer in the afternoon. So, he will repeat, no shopping, no shopping several times. And then I will raise my voice and say, “Johnny be quiet, “and then he knows that I am upset. So, he will say, “daddy is awesome.” Johnny has been nudging me to be awesome even while being upset.

Johnny is 29. He is so pure, innocent, simple, uncomplicated, unpretentious, unassuming, unsophisticated, and straightforward with no malice, jealousy, pride, arrogance, pompousness, snobbishness, or maliciousness. He doesn’t have any of the negative feelings or behaviors associated with the ego. He doesn’t have a shadow side; at least he doesn’t operate from that side. Johnny doesn’t seem to have any anxieties about tomorrow. He doesn’t seem to regret the past. He lives a simple life, fully immersed in the present, totally unaware of the comedies and tragedies of life, both real and imagined, that assail the rest of us. He is a child living in a man’s body experiencing the advice of Jesus that “unless you become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Since awesome is the word that calms his life and makes him happy, we began buying T-shirts for him with the word on it.

1. The Definition of Awesome: You are Looking at it.
2. I am so awesome I am jealous of myself.
3. There is no U in awesome but there is ME.
4. I Brought the Awesome: What did you bring?

When I am sitting stewing or brooding over something, or being sad or anxious, I see Johnny standing in front of me wearing that T-shirt: I brought the awesome, what did you bring? It helps me suddenly change my attitude.

We always bring with us something to every situation.

What do you bring to your marriage, to your relationships, to your family?

What do you bring to the offices you work in, to the streets you are driving on, to the malls you are shopping in, to the encounters you engage in?

Do you bring awesome, or do you bring awful?

Most people would say “I usually don’t bring anything, but when I do, I bring cookies or cakes or donuts or flowers.” They are thinking of bringing a thing — an object, something visible and tangible to the five senses.

I am not talking about bringing something. I am talking about bringing someone — You.

You are always bringing you to every situation.

You cannot go any place without taking you with you.

You cannot leave behind you at home before you go out into the world.

You are with you all the time, in all experiences and situations.

Wherever you go, there you are!

(from Cosmic Kindergarten: Earthly Lessons for a Heavenly Life)