Do you know me?

 The moment he got into the car, I could tell something was wrong. 

My son, who is normally all smiles and jokes, simply stared out the window as we drove home. My mother’s heart tightened in worry and I began asking him questions about the birthday party he’d just attended. It had been a big party and my son hadn’t know very many of the boys who were there. And as he answered my questions, it became apparent that he hadn’t felt accepted, or part of the group.

A curious thing happened after that not-so-fun-birthday-party. I found myself repeatedly answering questions like, “Mom, what’s my favorite color?” Or “What food do I like the most, mom?”

Question after question, my son interrogated me. And at first I just laughed at the silly things he was asking me; things that any mother would know the answer to. But then it dawned on me- he just needed to be reassured that he was known.

My son wanted to hear that I cared enough to know the tiniest details about him.

The joy that spread across his face as I correctly answered each of his questions left me feeling things deep within; things that I hadn’t been able to completely identify until then. You see, I may not be eight years old; but I, too, long to be known. In fact, almost on a nightly basis as I drift off to sleep I ask God silly questions like “Do you know how much I need your help to get through this?” or “Do you see the longings of my heart?”

Reading Psalm 139 always answers those questions for me, causing me to think about how intimately God knows me. Verses 1-6 say, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

The truth is; God knows more about me than I could imagine.

In fact, I believe He knows me better than I know myself. And that’s a great comfort to me. Not only does He see my struggles, He knows exactly how I feel as I face them. He also knows just what I need to be victorious. And that knowledge causes a smile of pure joy to spread across my face.I am known by the creator of the universe- more deeply and more intimately than I can comprehend.

I am known, and so are you.