Psalm 139:1-14
O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
Reflection
In the midst of COVID-19 people are discovering they need a Zoom Room. “A WHAT?” you might ask. My children have explained it to me in “contemporary terms”, but it is something that I have known in “mommy terms” for a long time. A Zoom Room is that place in your home that is clean enough that you can take a video call without worrying that everyone sees how you REALLY live. For me that was usually the front entry in case someone stopped by unannounced. Now I think if I can keep the porch respectable I am doing well!
That said, in our home we are in the process of creating several Zoom Rooms. With work video meetings, school online learning, teacher videos and worship recording we are finding that we need several places where we can chat and record. I know that we are not alone. I’m guessing that many of us have perfected the fine art of a quick tidy as we try to hide away things we don’t want others to see.
How grateful I am that we do not need a Zoom Room for God; that we don’t need to get everything ready before we come into God’s presence or in an effort to hide from God. God knows us. God knows the dirty dishes in the sink, and the pile of shoes in the hall and all of the deep personal things that we try to hide from everyone else.
AND God loves us still. God loves who God created us to be and who we are becoming. God who has searched us and knows all our ways, loves us in all of our idiosyncrasies and imperfections. And as we remembered yesterday in the story of creation, God declares us to be good.
I know that we will likely still create our Zoom Rooms for our video calls (although wouldn’t it be great if we gave ourselves and one another permission not to!). My prayer is that we will remember that we do not need to tidy up for God. God wants to be in relationship with us, however it is that we come.
Prayer:
God, You have searched me and You know me. And You love me still. Help me to trust in Your love. Help me also to share that love with others – to love them for who they are.
Creator, today I pray for those who are on my heart…..Amen.
To Listen:
