Known

Written by: Rachael Meade

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you..."

Jeremiah 1:5

Early one morning, I woke up to let my dogs out, and as I laid down to go back to sleep, a children's song popped in my head.  Then I remembered a Bible story I heard as a child.  I wasn't raised in church, so most of my memories of hearing about God were in swear words.  As I lay there singing Jesus Loves the Little Children in my head and thinking about the story of Jonah and the whale, I wondered how I even knew this song and story.  At that moment, a flood of memories came over me. 

Even though my parents were not serving God, they did sign me and my siblings up to go to Sunday school at a local church.  I was four or five years old at the time.  The church sent a bus, called The Joy Bus, to pick kids up.  There was a guy on the bus that played his guitar, and we sang songs on the way to church.  The Lord reminded me that it was on this bus that I learned the songs, and it was at Sunday school I had heard Bible stories. 

With these memories came an overwhelming feeling of love, acceptance, and freedom. You see, for years I felt that God didn't truly love me because, if He had, I would have been born into a family that loved Him and I would have been raised knowing Him.  I thought I was an afterthought or an accident.  At that moment, God showed me that He was always with me!  He reminded me that He knew me "before I was in my mother's womb", that He had thoughts of me for "peace and not evil" and I have a "future and hope."  My mind was blown!  He has always loved me my entire life!  He began to remind me of other times He was in my life and I didn't know it was Him.  He remained faithful to me and He has never failed me. 

Like me, you were not an afterthought or an accident!  You were formed with intention and purpose!

Thank You, Lord, for loving me, for making me in Your image and for showing me that all along You have been with me. Thank You also for the faithful people that sowed seeds into a little heart that one day You caused to grow.  Amen.

Dig Deeper

Jeremiah 29:11 | 1 John 3:1 | 1 John 4:19

#love #formed #faithful #hope #joybus #memories