I See You

A friend & former NICU parent posted an article today on Facebook that really hit home with me in our current circumstances and got me thinking.  The article was by a NICU nurse who commends NICU parents for their day in and day out sacrifices.  She encourages the parents by saying that she sees them.  Her article repeats over and over again, "I see you."

Invisibility is a characteristic I have come to know intimately over the years.  I'm not saying that I feel alone and trying to elicit sympathy.  Not at all.  I think at some point in their lives, everyone feels invisible.  Even if what we are going through (divorce, loss of a family member, a move, etc.) is very public, it doesn't take long for everyone else to move on with their own lives while your own life is stuck on PAUSE.  God ordains these seasons so that we can draw near to Him.  He is ultimately supposed to be ENOUGH for us.  Sometimes He may have to distance us from the people or things that we stuff into our lives to make us feel full for us to realize that they are just a substitute for Him and His sufficiency.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9)

The lesson that I guess that I take away from the article is not to wallow in those seasons in which I feel invisible, but to recognize the invisible.  People need to know that they are seen.  God uses the church, not the physical structure, but the body of believers to make Himself known.  There are numerous examples of where Jesus went out of His way (sometimes literally...John 4-the Samaritan woman at the well)  to SEE people and minister to them. John 4, 5, 9, 11 are just some examples.

God tells us in 2 Cor. 1:3-4 that one of the reasons He comforts us is so that we can comfort others in their troubles with the same comfort we have received.  Let's stop hoarding the comfort we have received and give it away.  Start seeing people.  Sometimes that may mean getting out of our Christian comfort zone, seeing past the sin, and choosing instead to look at them through the compassion of our Savior.  It's easy to see people when a devastation has just occurred.  The harder thing is to sustain that vision of them throughout a long trial or throughout their long season of grieving.

Trust me, I am in NO way writing this to condemn.  I'm really thinking out loud and mainly preaching to myself.  I am just as guilty as the next person of becoming too involved in my own life that I stop seeing people.  God has allowed very difficult things in my life (infertility, NICU, miscarriages) though that have given me new eyes for these precious people walking through those circumstances.  We have obediently answered the call to minister to NICU families and I can't tell you the immense blessing that it has been.

My mind has dwelt a lot on some words that John Piper preached in a song that I posted recently.  The song (Though You Slay Me by Shane & Shane) itself is beautiful.  He said, "Not only is all your affliction light...but all of it is totally meaningful (emphasis mine).  Every millisecond of your pain...it's not meaningless."

The worst thing that I could ever do to make my babies' death in vain is to selfishly hoard the comfort I have received.  Let's start making our suffering meaningful and purposeful by seeing people.  Yes, it might take some sacrifice on our behalf to drop an activity or two, but I think it's worth it when we consider the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on our behalf to see us in our sinfulness and die to save us from our sin.