Being Seen. God knows what you need.

Ever feel forgotten? Invisible?

You know those times when it’s as if life and everyone in it are marching on, leaving you on the sidelines? Like, no one cares. Or notices.

It can be pretty lonely out there.

The truth is, most of the time when people forget you or pass you over, it's not because of anything you've done or haven't done. It’s because they've gotten sidetracked, stuck in something somewhere, distracted, caught up in their busyness.

It’s easy to forget what's important when life has you in a flurry.

I find myself turning and talking to God a LOT lately. He's always there, He always cares, and He's always God. It can't get better than that! If God is for you, who can be against you?

I found myself in one of those funks one Christmas season. And in my funk, I reached out to a couple of my closest "people."

No one picked up their phones when I called. No one called me back. No one responded to my texts. I felt invisible at home, shrinking with the TV in the background. I felt forgotten, abandoned, and alone. There was no one to connect with in my time of need.

It's not the first time.

I realized it wasn't truly a reflection of how people felt or what they thought of me. These days, everyone is very "busy," especially around the holidays, myself included.

So, I said my prayers and talked to God. I didn't expect a detailed response from Him, but ultimately, I knew I'd be okay—I always am.

Then, something happened. It was small, silly, and meaningless to many, but it was huge to me. I knew it was God telling me, "I am seen."

I had commented on a post by a person I follow on social media earlier in the day.

Three hundred seventy-four people had also commented that day.

I’d been following this person for months, and I knew they rarely responded to people who commented on their posts. With hundreds of thousands of loyal followers, they are an important influence in their faith-based circle, and the messages they share are impactful and powerful, prompting many in their audience to leave notes of appreciation.

A couple of days later, after much prayer in response to my feelings of being down, I received a notification on my phone.

This well-known person not only responded to my comment but clearly had to have looked at my profile to find my name, because they did not use my abbreviated username in their comment.

Whoa. I was stunned!

And the kicker?

Over 476 people had commented by then.  However, I was the only person they had responded to, and with a warmth that made me smile.

I had been seen! Acknowledged! In that moment, I felt like I actually did matter.

I immediately praised God because I knew it was Him who had moved this person to acknowledge me. To let me know they saw me.

I realized then, and more importantly, that ultimately, it was God who saw me.

He knew how that response would make me feel. He knew what I needed in that particular moment, so He did something small and simple to let me know I was seen.

I occasionally revisit the post to recall how God reminded me that day. There were so many comments, and the ONLY response was to me. Wow.

I am seen. I am loved. Always.

Even when the world and those closest to me don't take the time to let me know, God does. This time, it happened to be on a social media post in front of hundreds of people from one of my favorite inspirational public figures. Other times, it could be something smaller, like the song of a bird outside, or bigger, like a tree with my initials.

God is so Cool.