READ: PSALM 139; LUKE 12:6-7

Any other “middle kids” out there? I’m a middle child. Not the exact middle, but I’m number three out of four kids. My older two siblings were very outgoing when we were young, and my little brother was the baby of the family, so all three of them received a lot of attention. And then there was me, somewhere in the middle. I was a really quiet kid, and it wasn’t uncommon for my parents to “lose track of me.”

I can’t count the number of times they drove away from church on a Sunday afternoon without me in the vehicle. The worst “Where’s Emily?” moment we experienced was when they left me at a soccer field after one of my little brother’s junior soccer matches. My mom thought I was in my dad’s car, my dad thought I was in my mom’s car, and I watched in horror as both cars drove away without me. I was probably eight years old at the time, and I had to ask a stranger to borrow their phone to call my parents and tell them they’d left me behind! And the kicker? My family got all the way home, unloaded the cars and went inside the house, and still didn’t notice I wasn’t there!

My family loves me. I don’t want you to think otherwise. And I have a wonderful relationship with my parents and all of my siblings. But being forgotten by the people who are supposed to take care of you—well, it stings!

Something I realized at the ripe age of eight was that my family is not perfect. My parents, even though they loved the socks off of me, made mistakes. They messed up, and I felt hurt in the process. I felt like they didn’t know me, and therefore didn’t care. It affected the way I viewed my worth as a person. That’s why, when I got older and found Psalm 139, it felt like fresh new air was being pumped into my lungs.

God knows me, and He loves me perfectly. Every moment of my life, every tiny insignificant detail, God knows it all. My thoughts, the hairs on my head, when I sit or stand, God knows and cares! And every day of my life He has been with me. Even on that awkward ride home in a strange family’s minivan after my brother’s soccer game (it wasn’t as sketchy as it sounds to ride home with a stranger, I promise!) God was with me. And He has that same perfect, capable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy love for you too. • Emily Tenter

• When we feel unseen, how could it be helpful to remember how God sees us?

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. Psalm 139:1 (NIV)