God Sees You

{Sailing on the North Channel}

“…You are the God who sees me…” {Genesis 16:13}

Pat, pat, pat. The early morning drizzle and cold breeze accentuated my deep physical and emotional fatigue. Coughing and cold, I was trying to keep focused on de-rigging my sailboat after a long weekend of camping with family.

I kept replaying the scene over and over again…watching her use the baby things I loaned her and pushing her baby in my stroller – my heart breaking. Choking back tears, I silently cried, “God, what about me? It’s so painful watching her doing the very thing I desperately want – to mother another child.  So many roadblocks, drama, and stress, will this adoption work out? Is this even meant to be? I just don’t know anymore.” Pushing aside my pain, the most important thing was the well-being of the baby and what was best for him.

As my husband and I finished de-rigging our boat a stranger walked by. “Sounds like some R&R is needed,” he said. I froze. No words would come.  I nodded and smiled slightly, agreeing with him. I watched as the stranger, wearing a fisherman’s hat, climbed into his small boat, motoring away from the dock, disappearing into the distance. In that ordinary yet sacred moment God whispered, “I see you. I see your pain. Come and rest with Me.”

Something happens when God whispers, “I see you.” Like the child who says, “Mom, Dad, did you see me?” we no longer feel invisible, our pain no longer unnoticed, by the One who loves us most.

“there is a God who sees you and He loves you very much.”

In her book, “The God Who Sees You” Tammy Maltby says, “God sees you. He sees your needs and yearns to fill them. He suffers beside you. He sees your weariness and offers you His strength.”

“God reveals himself in deeply personal ways” says Holley Gerth (“You’re Going to Be Okay”). “When stress comes into our lives, one of the most difficult parts can be feeling as if no one really sees…but there is One who promises His eyes are upon us. Even when we are in the desert and without hope, God sees. And it’s not just that He notices – it’s that He knows us. Deeply, intimately, completely.”

“When you are brokenhearted, I (God) am close to you (Psalm 34:18).” I felt God’s closeness, His presence, deeply and personally when He sent a stranger with a fisherman’s hat to remind me He sees, He cares, and gives rest for my weary soul – that’s grace.

Do you know Him? The One who sees you, your pain – the pain no one else sees, the pain you cover and hide because you’re afraid? Rest assured there is a God who sees you and He loves you so very much.~

I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and stories. You can post a reply here, on Facebook, Twitter, or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Tami
**all underlining and parenthesis are my emphasis.**