HE KNOWS MY NAME

Decades ago, I received a birthday greeting from then President Ronald Reagan.  A friend of mine had a friend who worked at the White House and somehow, my name got on a list and that November, I received a birthday card with a rubber stamp of the President's name on it.  Not a supporter of that President at the time, it was ... nice ... but I have no idea where that card is now and I am the saver of all things important in my life.  [I think I mentioned once before that my brother calls me a "borderline hoarder"]  A few years ago, I got a similar rubber stamped "thank you" from the desk of First Lady Michelle Obama for some innocuous gift that I sent.  I am a HUGE fan of Mrs. Obama (and her husband) and therefore, this missive brought great joy to my heart and I immediately placed it in a special place so that I would never lose it, could always pull it out to look at it if I wanted to ... you get the drift.  But regardless of my reaction to the receipt of each of these items, the reality is I only got these items because someone, somewhere, entered my name into a database and the card was printed.  Ronald Reagan has no idea that he sent me a birthday greeting at some point in the 80s and Michelle Obama, no matter much I might WISH she knew my name, wouldn't know me from anyone else she might pass on the street on a sunny day in DC.  

Social media can be the same way.  We connect with people as "friends" and "followers" and chase after "likes" and "hearts" - but we don't really know the people on the other end of the computer.  [I am referring to the strangers that we connect with, not real-life friends, family and acquaintances - although, in reality, this might apply to some of them as well]  Even if we read their blogs or send direct messages back and forth, we only know the persona that they present to the world, not the real person behind the screen name.

This became crystal clear to me earlier today.  I was fooling around on Instagram and read a post from a "friend" where she was talking about a situation that she found herself in.  [Full disclosure:  we are only connected because of a daily photo challenge that we each participate in.  We have exchanged a few comments on each other's posts and maybe one of two direct messages, but nothing significant]  Back to the story: In her post, she was basically giving a testimony that, even though she was in the midst of a challenge and didn't know how it was going to turn out, she was putting her faith and trust in God that He would bring her through it.  That even if the trial didn't turn out the way she wanted it to, that He must have a lesson for her to learn and she was going to be open to learning it because she trusted Him and His plan for her life.  It was a lovely thing to read and of course, I responded with a message of friendship and a promise of prayer.  But when I went to pray for her, I realized that, because of how her IG identification was set up, I didn't know her real name. I only knew her screen name and it was basically linked to her business venture.  I know she lives in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, but that's about it.  How am I supposed to pray for someone when I don't know their basic information?  

Here's the beauty of serving the God that we serve.  It doesn't matter.  It doesn't matter if I don't know her name - HE DOES!  He not only knows her name, He knows her situation. He knows her level of faith. He knows what she can handle and what she can't. He knows the outcome of her challenge already - even as she is going through it. 

HE. KNOWS. 

So, as I prayed to Him, I confessed that I didn't know any of these things, but I knew that He knew and that was enough for me.  Jeremiah 1:5 states, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.  In other words, we are NOT here by accident.  We are NOT here all alone.  We are a part of His plan and He knows us ... individually, personally, intimately.  We are not a part of a cookie-cutter assembly line of people that all look the same and that are all satisfied with a "rubber stamped" card on our birthdays.  HE. KNOWS. ME.  Me.  Kristina Elise Smith, daughter of Rudolph and Rachel, sister to Kevin, Greg, Scott, Brian, Todd and Nicole.  Me.  And in this crazy, mixed up, topsy turvy world that we live in, that knowledge gives me a foundation, that knowledge gives me peace, that knowledge gives me what I need to face the challenges in my life.  

I pray that knowledge gives you all of that and more. 

Be blessed.
© 2018 Kristina E. Smith