The Lord who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you.” Isaiah 43:1-3 (Good News Translation, adapted)
COVID is working its way through the Greek alphabet, which is the only good thing I can say about it today. I am tired of the pandemic, and weary of having my plans and expectations change on a dime. If it would do any good to tell the virus “I’m so over you,” as a way of breaking off the relationship, I’d take out a full-page ad and run it for a week in the local newspaper. I do not think I am alone in this feeling.
An odd thing happened when I was putting clean sheets on the bed our granddaughters slept in during their Christmas visit. As I pulled up the comforter, I noticed a lump in the middle of the bed. I discovered Dalmatian. I took this photo of it and sent it to the kids to see whose it was and got an immediate response that Marie-Hélène was looking for it. Apparently, Dalmatian got left behind, tangled up in the comforter.
The two youngest granddaughters each brought a small suitcase of lovies, books, and pillows for their Christmas visit. Then on Christmas morning, they opened Christmas gifts which included numerous small plastic objects such as an assortment of My Little Pony unicorns, and Pokémon figurines. While I am clueless and can’t tell a unicorn from an alicorn (Google it), they know every single character by name, as well as all the Disney princesses and Lion King animals.
So today, as the weight of the pandemic is heavy, I have found comfort in the fact that we have a God who knows our names, and who promises to be with us in our trials. If a little girl with far more than her fair share of toys, was looking for Dalmatian, then surely God knows us, loves us, and is with us in all things.
Thank you, God, for knowing all our names! ~ Anne
Wayfinding 