By Name


I can go days without hearing my name.

Does that ever happen to you?

You spend your entire day never hearing your name called by anyone. I have two names I routinely am called these days.

Pam, of course, and Mama or Mom (used only by my son).

Yet in the course of many of my days in this season, I am addressed as nothing.  Oh, I exchange words with my son, but he doesn't necessarily call me by name. He knows who I am, and we fall into conversations without addressing and using each other's given names.

I share pleasantries with the people at ALDI, and while I use the names of those I know -- they are not obligated, nor do many of them know my given name.

I can slip through my day without ever hearing my name aloud. A bit disconcerting now that I've allowed my mind to drift there. It doesn't change who I am or make me question my value as a person. It is . . . maybe just a reason for pause.

Do I do the same thing with the Lord?

Do I wake up and begin talking without addressing Him?

Is that really a problem? Is my familiarity with Him and my intimate knowledge of Him reason to just start in without formality?

I do the very same thing with my best friend.

Our conversations usually start with "Hey!" in a voice I immediately recognize is tinged with a smile.

I know her name oh so well. I also know her voice regardless of the beauty of caller ID/iPhone contacts. We can converse for hours on end, and never reach the closure of topics we could still discuss.

In those marathon conversations, we may use one another's names for emphasis, for tenderness, for chastisement when the other needs a firm word from someone who knows them better than they know themselves at times, and for identity. To her I am "Pam"; to me, she will ALWAYS be "Mary Lou."

It's how it's always been. Our names have been linked that way since we were barely teens. We know each other by name.

Back to my musings and the verse,
"And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalm 9:10 ESV
I know His name.

I trust Him. I know His voice, and more amazing: He knows mine.

I can awaken with each new day and cry out to Him without introduction.

He is my Father, my Abba, my Daddy.

I am His Beloved, His child, His daughter, His princess.

He knows my name, but He doesn't have to call it for me to recognize His voice. His whisper gets my attention. His Word penetrates my heart.

I can place my name in place of a pronoun and personalize it to make it resonate in my heart. I find that practice a valuable one, especially on those days I'm feeling invisible and unknown.

God always sees me.

God always knows. 

He knows me by name.

"For I, the LORD your God ___________(your name), hold your ___________ (your name) right hand; it is I who say to you ___________ (your name), 'Fear not, ____________ (your name), I am the one who helps you ___________(your name).'" Isaiah 41:13 ESV

Put your name in the blanks above. He knows you by name, too.

So, whether you hear it aloud today, He calls you by name.

He calls you His very own.

Call out to Him. He hears you. He will not forsake you.

Leaving a trail of beauty~

Pam




Comments

  1. Wow...I can SO relate. And for me, in my stage of grief...I can take this a step further and I’m often reminded how I can go an entire week without any form of physical touch. Before losing my husband, I was hugged a LOT each day...he always held my hand....etc....now, 13 months into my life without him the absence of touch has really caused me to pause!

    I’m always SO thankful for Sunday’s....and all the hugs I get at church - how I bottle them up to help sustain me thru my week.

    And, I’m reminded that HE is holding me close....and I truly only need HIS touch!

    Love you friend!!šŸ™šŸ»šŸ’—

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim, thank you so much for your vulnerability. I can relate to this one, too, though my aloneness is different. I have a lack of physical touch as well. Jesus is holding us close, and I am grateful for the days I can sense His presence and feel His touch. Love you, too!

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