by Desiree Bustamante
Christ sees who we are and still loves us dearly.
“You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!”
Psalm 139:6-18 New Living Translation
If you’ve ever sat inside a Chick-fil-A dining room, you may have noticed a “community table.” What most people don’t realize is that beneath each of those tables is a hidden story—an inscription from the very person who crafted it. Each story belongs to someone walking through a Christian rehabilitation program, someone who reached the end of themselves and chose to begin again.
Their words were hidden away, but someone discovered them, brought them into the light, and suddenly these testimonies became reminders of hope—proof that even in the darkest valleys, God is still victorious over darkness.
Every person who carved those tables carries a different history. Every one of us does. Yet we share something unshakable. We were created by God, shaped in His image, known before we ever took a breath. Our stories may take many routes—dreams fulfilled or shattered, seasons of joy or despair, hearts healed or broken—but none of it escapes His sight. He knows every cell, every thought, and every longing that stirs our hearts.
And yes, His eyes on our souls can feel frightening. We remember the choices we’ve made, the thoughts we’ve hidden, and the moments we wish we could erase. But God’s knowledge of us is never meant to shame us. We cannot outrun His love. Through Jesus Christ we have been washed clean and made new.
We are no longer defined by the worst chapters of our story. We are chosen. We are His children. And our names are no longer hidden under a table, waiting to be found by accident. They are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life so that we may enter the place He has prepared for us and live with Him forever.
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
