Pickin' Genetics

I was reading an article in some magazine or journal this week about how close we really are to being able to pick what genes our children get. I know that from a scientific view that is exciting and helpful. Just think of the genetic diseases that could be eliminated from the planet! Wow.

But, the other side of that coin is not so exciting. I think of Emma Kate and her health issues, several of which are genetic. Would I wish her to have asthma? HECK no. And do I LIKE that she is a carrier for some horrid genetic disease. OF COURSE NOT.

The thing that scares is that we would pick our children's traits and features, which would inevitably come along with this science.

When I think back to when I was preggo, I had a picture in my mind of what Emma Kate would be like. Beautiful. But then she came along, and she was not what I pictured at all. She was BETTER than beautiful.

Her traits were handpicked, just not by me. Someone who knew what He was doing much more than me. So, thank you GOD that I had my child BEFORE picking genetics was available. I am glad that I didn't have the option to mess it up, because I KNOW I would not have gotten it better than beautiful. I would have opted for a perfect smile, and I would have never seen that crooked grin she gives when she is holding something back. I would have chosen a slim nose that would have never quite crinkled the way hers does when she laughs. I would have chosen a high arch for that perfect ballerina point and never seen those silly pudgy flat feet kick like crazy when they are tickled in the slightest.

I would have chosen a pre-disposition to dancing, although she is probably going to laugh when I put her in her first tu-tu and tell me she'd rather be on the court. I would have focused on her being the smartest kid in the class, and forgotten all about the sense of humor that makes chuckle everyday. I would have probably wanted a head full of Shirley Temple curls and would never be able to pull it into the two pretty pigtails she asks for every morning.

So, again, I would just like to thank the Lord for being the designer and letting me just enjoy it.