Currently I’m a builder by profession, a carpenter by trade. By that, I mean, at this season in my life I make my living building things, primarily homes. But to identify myself, or be identified by others, as simply “a builder”, or as “a craftsman”, is to nearly completely miss the point of who David Smith is. There are a number of things (numerous is more like it) that go into the making of who I am. My personal history, my family of origin, my personality, my likes and dislikes, my convictions, my beliefs and core values, my thoughts, what moves me emotionally, what motivates me, how I relate to others, the “why” behind the “how” I relate to others, my deepest desires, my deepest hurts, my greatest fears, my successes, my failures, to name a few.

Far too often, I find myself living life at the “I’m a builder” level. It seems modern life leaves a lot of us living life at this level. It may be o.k. for doing business, but it’s pretty crummy and not very fulfilling for living life. I really do believe that deep down within each of us is the desire (perhaps more like a need) to really be known….for someone, somewhere to stop and take the time and show a serious interest in who we really are, and by that interest give us a glimmer of hope that we just might be half important, that our lives just might be worth something.

Tragically, (and I think I am safe in saying all) of us have experienced pain as well as dispensed our share of pain in this delicate human issue of knowing and being known. But what if? What if the person that knew you the very best, knew your every thought, every quirk in your personality, your every desire, your every disappointment, everything you would consider good about yourself and everything else, plus everything about you you haven’t even discovered, what if that person thought the very best of you? What if, knowing all the good, bad, and ugly about you, this person was the most interested in your life, had the greatest hopes for you, was the most committed to your joy, your fulfillment, your success and the quality of you life…in other words loved you the most? What if that person really existed? How might a relationship with that kind of person change your life and consequentially change your view of others? Just a thought.