He Knows Your Name

Can you believe it’s been NINE years since I married my sweet husband?

If you’ve been with me from the beginning, you may have even been able to join us virtually through the miracle of Facebook Live! If you are a newer friend, you may have missed walking through the season of single motherhood, learning to trust again, and marrying my best friend–not to mention the difficulties of our early marriage days.

Last week, we had the joy of celebrating NINE years of marriage to one another–and I must say, the years get sweeter and sweeter! I am blessed to have a man who has grown in his relationship with God, with me, and with my kids. I am blessed to truly experience being loved as Christ loves the church.

To celebrate, we took a trip to the Dominican Republic. Few things restore my mind and my soul like the beauty of the sun rising over the beach! The DR was a last minute change to our plans–and most definitely a God-ordained plan. You see, had we gone with our original travel plans, we would have either been in the devastating floods of the Grand Canyon or Zion National Park.

But God…

Honestly, though, that’s just one of the ways God moved in our hearts for this trip. He definitely protected us, but He also moved us.

I found myself looking around the resort and thinking about The Great Gatsby. If you aren’t familiar with this novel, it focuses heavily on the pursuit of wealth and materialism and the corruption that so often accompanies lives of luxury. I saw tourists from around the world partaking in the luxuries of a resort, all while the local people served us. I knew the resort was surrounded by poverty, and I began to look at the pay of those serving us. We make more in two months than many of them make in a year.

I was heartbroken. I was heartbroken by the poverty. I was heartbroken by my own desires. I was heartbroken by the opulence and luxury.

So we decided to try to touch just one life. Maybe we can’t change everyone’s life, but we knew we could do something for just one person.

As we talked about it over breakfast, Roy felt led to get to know the young lady waiting on our table that morning. She hadn’t really said much to us, and we knew nothing about her. But, as she approached our table, I was able to catch a glimpse of her name.

And I called her by her name.

Oh, how her demeanor changed! She was so touched that we took the time to notice her, to call her by her name. Through minimal English, she began to tell us about her sweet baby at home. We communicated the best we could by using our phones to translate English to Spanish, Spanish to English. We made plans to sit in her section again the next morning.

The next morning, we specifically asked for her section. She was so excited to see us! She actually brought her father, one of the chefs, to come meet us that morning! We chatted some more, and we made sure she knew God sees her, sees her hard work and her love for her baby.

On the third morning, our sweet friend had a special table waiting for us, decorated with beautiful flowers and in the best part of the restaurant. She had her father prepare us a special Dominican breakfast. We had the joy of celebrating our anniversary with her, with a beautiful young lady and her father.

And the most important lesson I learned was the importance of seeing people, of calling them by name, of recognizing God’s crowning creation. The simple act of calling a young lady by her name changed our week–and I certainly hope it changed hers.

As we reflected on our experience, God reminded me of the beauty of being seen and being known. We all long for it. We all long for people to know our names and be interested in us as people, not in what we can bring to the table. I know I will never take a server for granted again. I will always seek to call them by name, to show interest in who they are.

Because, you see, God knows our names. He calls us by name. He sees more than just a person going through life trying to survive. He sees a precious child, chosen, called to be His. He longs for a personal relationship with each of us. He–unlike us–is never too busy to see our hearts, to look into our eyes, and ask for a deeper relationship with us.

And I want to be more like Him.

I want to know your name.

Just as He knows our names.