One of my favorite parts of creating is the process of naming my work. Often times, I will have the name of the work decided before I even begin. Much like this process, God also knew our names before He created us. Names are special to God. Names are special to me as well; they must be uniquely perfect for that person or thing.

Something happened the other day at work that bothered me way more than it should’ve. I wrote a poem for our cleaning lady for Housekeeping Appreciation Week coming up. A coworker decided she would laminate it for me, and she ended up snipping off my name at the bottom. Our cleaning lady would know it was from me, yet still, it hurt me.

“Why does this hurt you so much?” He asked. “Is it you’re afraid of being unseen, unknown, or your name forgotten? Or maybe you’re afraid your gifts won’t be recognized.”

Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Before our physical bodies were ever formed, God knew our names. After our physical bodies perish and for eternity afterwards, He will continue knowing our names. Nothing anyone could ever do will change that. Our gifts, like our names, will enter into Heaven along with us. Before my gifts were mine, they belonged to God. My gifts still belong to God, and they will always belong to God and be used for God. If I’m using my gifts to glorify God instead of myself, then why should it even matter if my name is attached to my work?

How often do we cut off God’s name from our creations and replace it with our own? How often do we let pride steal our joy in creating? Who will like this? Who won’t? The truth is, it doesn’t matter. We should be living for an audience of one. This kind of mentality is one of the greatest representations of our faith—to long to please God and not man.

The longer I sat with these feelings, the more I realized it really didn’t bother me as much as it initially did. God gave me peace. Long after I’m forgotten on this earth, God will remember my name; truthfully, that’s all that really matters.