One day when I pulled into the driveway, I was surprised to find our adorable polka-dotted broom with purple bristles ominously lying against the outdoor trashcan the day before trash day…as if it was going to be taken to the curb as well! All other matters were immediately of second importance in light of this tragedy I was witnessing. Bursting into the house, I urgently bellowed into the cavernous open floor plan, “Why is the broom by the outdoor trashcan?! Who put it there?!”

The previous home owners had intentionally left behind the dilapidated broom five years ago during their move. We store it in the corner of the garage only occasionally using it to sweep out a dead bug or a few leaves. But it has frequently cheered me in the privacy of my own mind and heart as I enjoy its presence while putting away things or getting things out of that boring corner. The colorful polka-dotted handled, purple bristled broom is a ray of sunshine in its less than exciting spot in the garage. How impressive that someone out there had taken an ordinary household item and made it so fun! I had no idea the adorable broom was under threat of eradication.

My husband bravely stepped forward and confessed his horrible deed. Equally surprised now himself, he added, “I was worried the girls might be upset about me getting a new broom, but I didn’t count on you being upset.” This made perfect sense to me. Poor guy. Almost a quarter of a century of marriage had not adequately prepared him for his seemingly inconsequential decision. Though still concerned for the plight of my favorite broom, I was now very amused.

Trivial moments like this remind us that, despite the longevity and intimacy of a relationship, it is impossible for any other human to fully know us. However, our Creator completely knows us and is worthy of our absolute trust.

Psalm 139:1-18 beautifully expresses God’s intimate knowledge of each of His children.

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there!If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”