Names and Stories
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
I remember when I first started to read Humans of New York articles, I was obsessed with the stories of all these people who wander the streets of a city like New York. So, when I was a freshman at Vanderbilt, I somehow got the idea of doing the same thing for the squirrels.
With the help of one of my friends, we would take videos of squirrels and write names and stories and post them on Instagram. I suddenly became extremely aware of all the various squirrels that were wandering around campus, and I had no fear of embarrassment when it came to stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to videotape a squirrel.
Writing those stories gave me a glimpse into how God writes ours. Each of our stories is unique to us, and he created the stories individually and intentionally as a way of him demonstrating his love for us.
I have a tendency to fall into the trap of not feeling known or alone in the communities that the Lord has surrounded me with, but we have a God who took the time to create an intricately plan every detail in our lives. He did not haphazardly write our stories only focusing on the big things; instead, he took the time to write in details too: good food, words of encouragement, sunsets, and so much more. There is no part of our lives, or ourselves that he does not know about or is not under his domain. God is always with us, and he loves us more than we can imagine.
This is the hope that I cling to when I feel the most isolated, that the God of the universe who wove my story together, also wove the stories of my friends, the people I don’t know, and even the squirrels at Vanderbilt.