I have lived in the area (well, the “general”
area—I was born and raised in south Cobb
County) for almost all my life. Over the years,
I have noticed a trend of people moving ever
westward. People I grew up with and went to
school with often move west from Cobb to
Paulding, or beyond. I am not sure of the
reason for that, except to surmise that folks
are looking to get out of the hustle and bustle,
and to get more for less (house and land).
Regardless, in my completely non-scientific
estimation (that is, I have not done an official
survey), I see people following the sage 19
th
–
century advice of Horace Greeley and
heading west.
As the crow flies, Stacy and I live almost
exactly a mile from the Paulding County line
(we are in the extreme western part of
Powder Springs). Living in this general area
for as long as I have means that there are
times when I run into folks from my school
days. It is not unusual for me to be in a Home
Depot or a Kroger or a gas station and have
someone call my name. While I am very good
at remembering faces (I will argue that I never
forget a face, in fact), I am not always so
good with names from my past. This has been
cause for more than one uncomfortable
moment, as you might imagine. Yet it is
always a special feeling to be remembered by
name.
The truth is, we all like to hear our
name. We typically react in a positive way
when someone calls us by the name that
our parents gave to us. I contend, in fact,
that it should be common practice for us to
call everyone we possibly can by name, in
particular those who are serving us in the
marketplace. Most folks in restaurants and
stores wear name badges, so we should
take advantage of that. Make it a point to
call the server/cashier/attendant by name.
They will appreciate it.
We worship and serve a God who
knows us by name. He is intimately aware
of every aspect of our lives. He knows our
pain and our struggles. He knows our
triumphs and our failures. He is concerned
about the things that cause us fear and
harm. He understands our weaknesses,
and he knows our strengths. Every thought
that we have, every step we take, our great
God knows.
It has been said that the universe
contains at least 10 billion trillion stars.
About this, the prophet Isaiah says that our
God created each and every one of those
10 billion trillion stars. Further, this same
Creator God “calls them all by name.”
What an incredibly satisfying thought, to
know that the ultimate power in the
universe not only created everything, but
he also is fully attuned to his entire
creation.
God knows our names. He made us,
and he is constantly watching over us. He
cares for us in ways that we are incapable
of fully understanding. His greatest
concern is our welfare, our shalom. He
knows what is best for us, and he is
relentlessly seeking our highest good.
In case you missed it, please know this:
God loves you. Completely.
–Ricky