We thought you would enjoy a recent reflection from one of our Life with God participants. Kathy is an engineer, wife and currently a full-time mom.
It was beautiful – like love, like music, like truth; something that passed right through the eyes and pierced straight into the soul. Have you ever had the experience of being truly and deeply known by God? The perfect gift from a spouse or friend, the phone call at just the right time with words of encouragement, the beautiful sunrise even though you had to wake up early because of a crying baby . . . all of these are God reaching out to you, holding onto you, comforting you, lifting you up. His love for and deep knowledge of us take many different and surprising forms.
Perhaps His love for us even brings frustration. For example:
- The hours spent with the tripod and the “perfect” family poses, rendered unnecessary by the single joyful picture taken by a passer-by.
- The perfectly-scheduled day for accomplishing the most tasks possible, turned upside-down by a single, misplaced toddler naptime.
- The zucchini and squash that was the only vegetable accompaniment to dinner but didn’t make it into the bag with the rest of the groceries at check-out.
Lately it seems all of my best-laid plans are completely for naught. God is trying to teach me something about control – my releasing it to Him, and being flexible in unstable and unpredictable circumstances (or even those circumstances that should be stable and predictable but somehow aren’t). I believe this is another illustration of His love for me, and His perfect knowledge of me – my shortcomings, my tendency to forget about Him and focus on what I can do for myself. The Lord wants me to be in deep communion with Him, and sometimes that takes painful growth on my part.
It can be hard to feel truly known and loved in the midst of frustration, despair, or deep depression. I would encourage you to search your life for even the little things that show God’s love for and intimate knowledge of you, whether they are beautiful or painful. How have you been known by God?