But Mama Named Me Melody

As I walked into the kitchen this morning, I found myself grinning like a smitten teenager.

No warning. No big revelation from the clouds. I was just walking into the kitchen when one thought settled into my heart:

The God of this entire universe knows my name.

And friends…

I started smiling from ear to ear.

My whole being blushed.

If anyone had seen me standing there in the kitchen, they probably would have wondered what was wrong with me. My body twisted a little, my hand flew over my mouth, and I snickered as I tried—unsuccessfully—to hide the smile spreading across my face.

You know that smile you get when someone is saying all the right things and you’re trying not to let them see how much it’s getting to you?

That was me.

Because this one thought kept coaxing the smile out of me:

The God of this entire universe knows me.

Me.

I may have even done a little dance right there in the kitchen.

And the more I thought about it, the wider that smile became.

Because think about it.

Billions of people on this earth. Billions of names. Billions of lives unfolding all at once. And somehow, the God who hung the stars, tells the oceans where to stop, and keeps planets suspended in space knows Melody.

My name.

Man!

That thought did something to me this morning.

Isaiah 43:1 came rushing to mind:

“I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

By. Your. Name.

Not, “Hey, you over there.”

Not, “One of My many children.”

Not a number lost somewhere in heaven’s enormous database.

Your name.

The moment I opened the refrigerator door, another thought came to me, and I froze for a few seconds.

My physical eyes scanned the vegetables, fruits, and juices sitting on the shelves, but my mind’s eye was seeing something else entirely.

Wait a minute…

Wait a minute.

How does God know the name Melody?

My mother named me Melody.

She was the one who looked at her baby girl and decided that would be my name. So when the Bible says God knows me by name, is it really about the name?

And almost immediately, the thought became even sweeter.

It’s not just that He knows the name Melody. He knows the person my mother named Melody.

Oh, now THAT made me smile.

Because before anybody ever called me Melody, God knew me.

Before I had a name, He knew me.

Before I had a personality anybody could describe, before I had accomplishments, failures, dreams, worries, quirks, responsibilities, or stories to tell, He knew me.

Psalm 139 says He saw me while I was still being formed. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.”

So maybe knowing my name is only the beginning.

He knows the woman behind the name.

The Melody who laughs in her kitchen.

The Melody who sometimes worries too much.

The Melody who prays prayers nobody else hears.

The Melody who has questions.

The Melody who has dreams.

The Melody who gets tired.

The Melody who rejoices.

The Melody nobody else gets to see completely.

He knows her.

There is something incredibly intimate about that.

Because if God knows me that deeply, then surely He knows where I am.

He knows what I’m carrying.

He knows what has been worrying me.

He knows the prayer I haven’t figured out how to put into words yet.

He knows the things I don’t tell anybody.

He knows what makes me laugh and what makes me cry.

He knows me.

And suddenly, before breakfast had even properly begun, I decided:

It’s about to be a good day.

Not because I know what today will bring.

But because the One who already knows today…

knows me.

Whew.

Nuggeteers, maybe you needed that reminder this morning too.

Your parents may have chosen your name.

People may know your name.

Some may even recognize your face.

But God knows something far more precious.

He knows the person behind the name.

And before anybody on this earth ever called you anything at all…

He knew you.

Now tell me that isn’t something worth dancing about. ❤️