KNOWN
Things I am missing during lockdown…
1. Going to the beach.
Paul and I often head to the beach when we have a day off, and there are some amazing beaches in Northumberland. One of my favourites is Alnmouth - google it!
The great thing about Alnmouth is you can park overlooking the water. Sometimes I head there by myself, it’s only about a 40-minute drive if you head up there at 6am in the morning. I feel so close to God at the beach, walking along the sand and breathing in the fresh air. Maybe has something to do with the amount of sky and water you can see…the vastness. The waves rushing in, walking barefoot, looking at the little shells and pebbles, watching the grasses on the sand dunes sway in the wind…. If I want to hear from God, I often head to the beach.
2. Costa
I also love going to Costa, I like the one in Gateshead best… I like to sit in the same seat with my flat white. I can see all that’s going on in the shopping centre. I usually have my iPad, phone, notebook, pens and highlighters, charger and headphones, taking up all the room on the table, right at the back, next to the window where the charger points are…
3. Northumberland Street, Newcastle.
It’s easy to get into the city centre from where we live. Sometimes I get the bus into Newcastle and wander up Northumberland Street, I have a browse in Fenwick’s, but it’s a bit posh for me – TK Maxx is more my style!
Anyway… back to the beach, a bit of a contrast! A few years ago, I remember driving early one morning to Alnmouth, parking the car, having a wander, saying hello to the few dog walkers who were out before 7am. I remember sitting on a huge log on the beach, lifting my head to the sky, breathing in the sea air, and telling God that I was listening.
I had an overwhelming sense of His presence, so much so that I began to cry, I was literally crying like a baby. I went back to my car and took out a notebook and this is what I felt He said…
Meg, yesterday when you were on Northumberland Street, it was crowded… yet I could pick you out of any crowd. Today Meg, if you were a grain of sand on this beach, I’d know which one was you.
WOW… I’m known. Not just by my husband and family, friends or work colleagues… I’m known by God
That’s something I need to hear at this time… do you? You are known by God. Every feeling, every tiny minuscule thing… He knows.
He knows that I miss my Costa flat white, that I like to look in TK Maxx, especially the home section. He knows that I’m anxious, He knows that I’m concerned about finances, and my job….
But there’s something very comforting and empowering when I lay my head down on the pillow, with the reassurance that I am known.
I can’t shop in TK Maxx right now; nobody is sitting in my seat in Costa and I can’t just get in the car and head to the beach. But God knows that and He has orchestrated that I have time at home – and I’m finding new walks, new rooms and places to listen.
In Galatians 4, Paul is admonishing the Galatian people, but He says something really profound: ‘Now that you know God—or rather are known by God…’ (vs9). Sometimes we think that’s it’s us who found God, that somehow, by our own merit, we have got to know God. The more important aspect is that God knows us, He chooses to reveal Himself to us.
God can pick you out of any crowd, He knows every intimate detail of your face, character, thoughts and desires.
You are KNOWN.
