Seeing the "Invisible"

I challenge you to look at this post as a window into what has been on my heart this week. I challenge you further to do what I did this week- see the "invisible". 

How many of you have felt invisible before? Alone? Scared and afraid? How many of you have had to go through something so emotionally draining that you felt like you were being engulfed in a massive rain storm? How many of you have felt that what God has asked you to go through is just too much to bear- even though He has proven Himself again and again? How many of you have found yourself asking God, "Are you there? Are you paying attention?

Sometimes in this life we go through momentary trials that leave us feeling as if no one in the world cares. That no one can help. That no one can see how much you are hurting. That no one can see you. 

Sometimes in the life we do things over and over again because we just want our efforts to be recognized. We are human; we all have a desire within us to be recognized, affirmed, cared for and appreciated. How many of us have felt that we go unrecognized? 

• Think about all the single moms who are doing their best to raise their kids while working full time and then spending their free time cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children and feel unappreciated.
• Think about the nurses who work insane hours to make a living who feel like their patients don't understand, or care about how much they have to do. 
• Think about the children who wander the streets feeling like no one cares about what they say or do or where they go.
• Think about the teenagers and young adults who have no idea who they are or how they fit into this big world.
• Think about the people who struggle with addictions and feel like they have to hide them because of the shame they are filled with.
• Think about the homeless people that are constantly passed up by people on the streets.
• Think about all the leaders in our community who feel like they can't show their emotions at any cost.
• Think about the mom in walmart who looks like she hasn't slept for days and whose baby is screaming at the top of his lungs
• Think about the teachers who go above and beyond to give their students a good education but are constantly being knocked down by the education systems.

These are people who desperately need to know they are seen; not just seen, but dearly loved, cared for, and appreciated. And not just dearly loved, cared for, and appreciated, but valued and celebrated by an amazing and powerful God. 

Any of this sound familiar? Or maybe for you---it's something different. The point is many of us have at some point felt discouraged, beaten down, forgotten, or invisible. For me personally- it was the years in high school that I felt invisible around my brother. It wasn't until I made a friend at church that I finally felt like someone was finally starting to see me.

Often times I wonder why I didn't realize sooner that we have an amazing, powerful, awesome God who sees us. 

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How incredibly amazing is that? God SEES us. He sees our pain. He sees our frustration. He sees the things we desperately try to hide. 

Psalm 139

• He sees the single parents who are working themselves into the ground
• He sees the homeless people on the streets
• He sees the orphans in China who are wondering if they are loved
• He sees the nurses, teachers, and others who work hard to better the lives of others
• He sees the teens who are struggling to pass their classes because they are too hungry to focus.
• He sees the employees who feel used and abused
• He sees us ALL.

He sees. He cares. And He loves us. As Christians, we should be sharing that love with others.

This week I challenge you to see the invisible. See the moms in walmart with the crying babies. See the kid who goes home to a difficult home life. See the homeless on the streets. See them with God's eyes and do something.

That's what I did this past week. And it literally brought me to tears on many occasions.

• hugging the girl with Autism who finally let me into her world for a moment.
• buying formula for the mom who was a dollar short.
• stopping and talking with the older lady sitting on the bench at the park.
• Acknowledging the hard work a lady at church puts into the children's programs.
• and more.

I have felt invisible before. I have felt how amazing it feels to be noticed by someone and the even more amazing feeling when I realized GOD sees me. So see, really see, the "invisible" this week. 

And then, if you desire, tell me what God did in your heart this week. I would love to share in that with you.