To Be Seen
All my life,
I’ve longed to be seen.
Not seen as me
(I had no clue
who I was),
but seen as
who I thought
I should be
when others
looked at me.
Always wanting
to be truly seen,
and yet always
hidden behind
and buried underneath
looks from others,
comments from others,
the opinions of others,
the need for approval from others.
From growing up
with a mother
who –
no fault of her own –
was emotionally absent
and emotionally bankrupt,
never nurturing,
never praising,
never speaking into
who I was
for fear of
giving me a big head
and making me
“full of myself”,
on into adolescense
and adulthood –
walking through life
starving,
skin and bones only –
no emotional sustenance.
But then –
along came Jesus.
The One who
not only created me,
but the one who
truly knew me,
truly understood me,
truly felt me,
truly got me,
and amazingly of all –
truly loved me
in spite of
all I was
and all I wasn’t.
And the more
I drew near to Him,
and the more
I opened up myself
and let Him
draw near to me,
the more I
came to
truly know me,
truly understand me,
truly feel me,
truly get me,
and amazingly of all –
truly love me
in spite of
all I was
and all I wasn’t
simply because He did.
I began to understand
the wounds and the
empty places
from my childhood
were holes
deep inside of me
only He
could fill.
I began to see
my weaknesses and
my “less than” places
were both areas
of deep need
where His glory
was meant
to one day
shine through.
I began to realize
the emotional innards
of me that were
starving for attention
were actually
my very soul
hungering and thirsting
for the only one
who could truly
love me –
wholly,
completely,
unconditionally.
And in seeing
Jesus,
in all His glory
and in all His love,
I was finally able
to see the real me.
A sinner in
desperate need
of a Savior.
A daughter
desperately loved
by her Heavenly Father.
A human
desperately seen
and understood
and cared for
by her Creator.
No wonder
the missing piece
of me remained missing
until I met
the Messiah.
The Messiah
who brings
shalom-
peace and
complete wholeness.
And the
most astonishing thing
now is that
since I’ve been
fully seen by Him,
I no longer
have the desire
to be seen.
Now my desire
is that all
may fully
see Him.
Because if they do.
If they see Jesus
like I have seen Jesus,
and if they allow Jesus
to then see them
like I let Jesus see me,
they, too, will no longer
desire to be seen.
They, too,
will desire to
know Him more
and to make Him known.
Jesus.
All we are
is wrapped up
and unwrapped
in discovering
who He is.
Oh, Father God,
We longed to be seen.
Not seen as us,
and not seen as
who we think
we should be
when others
look at us,
but seen
as You see us,
that we might be
a true reflection
of You.
Oh, Lord –
show us You
that we might
know who we are
and that we might
show others
The Way,
The Truth,
and The Life
found only in You.~
~Stacy
