Daily Dwelling

Many times I have walked through seasons of disappointment, hurt, loneliness, and confusion. In those seasons, I have often asked God “do you see me?”

As I was reading in Genesis the other day I was reminded of the story of Hagar. Hager was an Egyptian servant who worked for a barren woman named Sarah. Sarah allowed Hagar to conceive with her husband so she could have a child of her own. Sarah ended up resenting Hagar once she became pregnant and Hagar ran away. In her loneliness, an angel approached her to relay a message from God. And Hagar‘s response in verse 13 was, “You are El-roi. In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” 

Many times we search to be seen. That could be through social media or us being loud in a room to make sure that we’re heard. It could even look like fishing for compliments. But we serve a God who never closes his eyes to us. Every attentive and intentional parent must shut their eyes to sleep. But our father in heaven never sleeps. He sees everything. He sees every emotion and every interaction. He sees us. 

In Psalm 139:16,  David says “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” 

So as I think about what our life can look like as moms, I hope it’s encouraging to know that God sees us. He sees us when we’re awake at 3:00am feeding our newborn. He sees when we cry buckets of tears and we don’t even know if or why we’re sad. He sees us when we forgive someone who hurt us. He sees us reading that same book to our toddler every night before bed. He sees us and loves us. When I think of the incredible middle and high school girls I get to minister to I pray that they also know that God sees them. He sees them when they look in the mirror and Satan tries to convince them they are not good enough. He sees them when they get their heart broken from a friend or a boyfriend. He sees them as they attempt to follow where He is leading them as they graduate high school and become filled with anxiety. He sees us in detail.

As we begin this new year, let’s practice seeing God back. Let’s look for God in everyday things. When we’re folding that 3rd load of laundry, thank Him for the clothes you have for your babies and for yourself. Worship Him everyday regardless of how it’s going. Keep worship music playing throughout the day as an anthem against the enemy. When you’re filling in your calendar each day, intentionally put “rest” somewhere on it. Maybe even prioritize one day a week that is a Sabbath for your family. Lastly, learn His voice so that you can hear from Him often. We can’t know the voice of someone who we don’t spend time with.

Today I’m grateful for the God who sees me. You should be too.