Allow me to offer you a thought: All is seen and known.
Each thought and action we take is witnessed, recorded, and unalterable. Regardless of our own or others’ efforts to obfuscate or bury certain instances that were shameful, abusive, or untruthful, they remain. While they may never be published, their occurrences cannot be erased.
This take on transparency can be discouraging, but at the same time it should be reassuring. For it means that none of our suffering goes unseen. And none of our acts of love or empathy for others go without notice.
“But you know all about it—
the contempt, the abuse.
I dare to believe that the luckless
will get lucky someday in you.
You won’t let them down:
orphans won’t be orphans forever.”
The author of the Psalm, accepting this premise of omnipotence, is restored in hope. Emboldened by the fundamentally temporary nature of life and good nature of God, the Author asserts that our current sufferings are both known and fleeting. That restoration is an eventuality.
It also strikes me that God remains undeterred in his desire to connect with me despite his supreme knowledge of my shortcomings. For if those closest me knew ALL my thoughts and EVERY action, I’m not sure we would experience the same level of intimacy we currently enjoy. This societally inverse nature outlines an area we could all work to grow in: acceptance and forgiveness.
Let us approach this coming week with renewed hope, understanding that our current trials are seen, recognized, and temporary. And may we aspire to accept and forgive others to the same degree we already enjoy.