Do You See Me?
Recently a man approached me on my way into Walgreens. He appeared to be someone who was asking for money. Many times I will stop and give money if I have it, but that day, I was in a hurry and knew I didn’t have any cash on me. I ignored him and kept walking towards the store. Then I heard him. He asked forcefully, “Do you see me?” His question and his tone made me stop in my tracks. I thought about what it must feel like to be in his shoes. I remembered living on the streets myself when I was a teenager.
He said, “Yes, I need money, but do you see me? I’m a person, and its like I am not even here.”
He felt invisible and he wanted to be seen. I stopped and gave him my full attention. “Yes, I see you. You are important,” I said to him. “I don’t have any cash on me, but I am going into Walgreens and I will give you some when I come out.” It was two minutes of my time. So little, and yet I connected with this human being. I gave a tiny bit of myself to acknowledge his existence and his value.
I’m not sure how much I affected him, but I was affected. I liked the feeling of looking past his exterior, and being totally aware of his precious humanity. For just a moment, he looked to me like a wonderful being, almost glorious. I was aware that I was looking at a treasure, that I was catching just a glimpse of what God sees constantly. I knew in that moment, that I would be more aware of the worth of humans going forward. The homeless man might have given me more than I had given him.
If there are times that you feel invisible or insignificant, like you’re not that important to the world around you, if you’re not respected or if you’re misunderstood, there is One who knows you and believes in you. You are His treasure, His pearl of great price.
When the Pharisees misunderstood and mislabeled Jesus, He said there was One who knew Him. That One, is the one that we pay attention to.
When biblical Hagar was dying in the desert alone, it seemed that nobody cared or understood her situation. Then God helped her and revealed how well He knew her. After that, she would call God by a different name; “The One who Sees Me”.
Friend, God sees you, and you are precious and beautiful, even glorious! He is the One who sees, and what He sees is the truth.
You are a true treasure of creation, and Judi and I believe in you!