You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways. (Psalm 139:1-3)

O my soul,
know the love and the care of God.

When you breathed your first breath,
He heard it for He gave it.
When you took your first step and spoke your first word,
He saw and heard it for He gave the capacity for it.
At your greatest pinnacles of joy, He was there—
in that which brought you joy,
in the rising up within your spirit sensed as joy,
and din the creation of joy within human experience.
At your greatest depths of grief and brokenness, He was there—
in the sense of something good being lost,
in the longing for all things to be made right,
and in the comfort you sense in His presence.

O my soul,
know the love and the care of God.

The greatest abilities and talents you have
are a gift from Him out of love,
and your capacity to hone them, too,
is a gift from Him in love.
The most foul or broken place in your life
He knows and still loves you there,
and your sense that such places were made for more
is also a gift of His holy love to you.
The beginning of your life
and the end of your life
is treasured by Him in tender love,
and the everyday ordinary of your life—
meals and conversations, friendships and foes,
projects and recreation, longings and pursuits—
all is held in His loving hands and merciful gaze.

O my soul,
know the love and the care of God.

Look at the lilies of the field swayed
by Him in beautiful splendor,
and watch the birds of the skies
soaring to great heights on the wings He has provided.
If He cares for and loves these,
how much more does He care for and love you?
Look at the Cross where He hung transfixed
as a revelation of how far divine love will go,
and gaze into the empty tomb radiating the fullness
of divine love’s victory over all things.
If He has accomplished such great acts,
how much must He care for and love you?

O my soul,
know the love and care of God.