Known Part 4

 

I recently heard a person say, “Most of us deeply want to belong, but we settle for fitting in.”  We want to be fully known but are concerned that such vulnerability is unsustainable, impractical, and impossible.  The Psalmist offers a different perspective.  You are known.  All of you.  Whether this causes you to exhale deeply, shift uncomfortably, or question how that is even possible, all those reactions/responses are appropriate.  For me, this means that when I discover something about myself as if for the first time.  For example my need for perfectionism can feel like I am still trying to impress my elementary school teacher for a gold star on my paper.  I trust that God knows this.  God holds this alongside me.  God invites us to be honest with ourselves without any harshness.  What is one truth about yourself you’ve discovered or rediscovered in the past month?  Maybe you discovered that the gospel of your family growing up was to cut corners and get ahead at any cost.  Maybe you discovered that the values of growing up still linger even though you are thousands of miles away from your place of birth.  Maybe you recognize now that you’ve been carrying unresolved grief around a rupture in a relationship, because when you wrote the person’s name in a circle weeks ago, tears came to your eye.  Maybe…you fill in the blank.  The mystery of your life is held by God.  You can continually rediscover your life as you open yourself to connect with God.  The threads that run from places to people to events and experiences have been knit together by the One whose wisdom is deeper and wider than any human being can imagine.  Let this reassurance embrace you and remind you, God will never let you go.  Amen.