Known.

I had a post in mind, but then I got busy and...poof...it vanished. Thankfully, this one is probably better, and I think it is because it is a concept that has been monopolizing my mind for the last 10 days or so.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Sounds pretty awesome, and as I type it, I'm reflecting on how much fun that day was. The odd part about it, though, was that I was experiencing this exciting place all by myself. I did get to catch up with an old friend over lunch, but the majority of my day was comprised of me being that guy that walks around at amusement parks by himself. There were hundreds of people bustling about from one attraction to the next, yet the whole experience made me feel...small.

Isn't it funny how you can be surrounded by people and still feel all alone?

Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed by loneliness. It isn't a fun feeling. Maybe this is the appeal of Social Media, that we can feel connection, albeit digital, in real time almost around the clock. I think it feels good to be known. But being known takes vulnerability and sacrifice and work. Sometimes it's easier to remain anonymous. It's always easier to be a wallflower than to choose to dance and put yourself out there. After all, the wall never rejected anyone.

The fear of rejection is a primal one causing many to shrink back from a life-changing relationship or experience. I'm calling for a new valuation that we put on ourselves and one another. We are FAR more valuable than we know. Why? Because we are known by God, the Creator of all things.

When I consider your heavens,
     the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
     which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
     human beings that you care for them?
Psalm 8:3-4

When we think about God and the vast universe that He created...how can you help from feeling small? The next verses of Psalm 8 tell us that God made us a little lower than angels. Later on in Psalms, this is written about how well God knows us:

For you created my inmost being;
     you knit me together in my mother's womb.
​Psalm 139:13

We are not insignificant; we are divinely hand-stiched. The same hands that formed the heavens and earth, knows us inside and out.

​I just thought you'd like to know that you are known.
​