Have you ever been surprised in a public place when you suddenly hear your name called out? It can make your heart jump, especially if you’re a long ways from home and far from anyone you know. I remember walking the streets of Chicago when someone from my little home church in Eastern Canada saw me and yelled, “Andrea!” I was shocked – but also relieved – to be known by someone in such a busy and unfamiliar place!


Our world can feel busy and unfamiliar. Our world numbers us and gives us codes and uses our account numbers instead of our names. Increasingly, we feel less like individuals and more like numbers in a line. It is a great gift (and relief!) to be known by name, not just by the people in our lives, but by the very God who flung each star into the universe. He knows every star, yet He can name you. We laugh when my dad forgets my name from time to time and calls me a few of his sisters’ names first. But God, who forgets your sins, will not forget your name. He has it engraved on the palm of His hands.