To See and Be Seen

I'm reminded again that one of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is our focused, personal attention. A group of my friends recently traveled to Russia to host a retreat for women who grew up in orphanages and are now trying to raise their own children--with very few role models or personal examples to draw on. My friends taught classes on parenting, conflict-resolution, self-esteem and the like, but the most meaningful thing they may have done was to paint the Russian women's nails. It's intimate work. It's "I-care-about-you" work, especially in this context. No money was paid; no expectations were made. It was just one woman focusing all of her attention on another, serving her humbly and with love just like Galatians 5:13 tells us to do.

Children who grow up in institutions don't get personal attention. Moms doing the hard work of raising children, sometimes alone or with little support, are rarely acknowledged by others. I don't know many American women who have had another person look them in the eye and say, "You're doing a great job raising your children. Don't lose heart!" How much more must this mean to someone who's never really been seen at all.

To be seen. It's one of our most essential human needs. It's why God reveals Himself, in the book of Genesis, as El Roi, the God who sees us. And not just us, but you. And me. And her over there sitting by herself in the corner, thinking no one in the world notices her or cares about her. God notices! And I think He loves it when we follow His example.

Not many of us will find ourselves painting the nails of grown-up orphans in Russia. But surely we can all find someone who needs to be "seen" this week. Cooks at restaurants, janitors at schools and churches and airports, workers taking a smoke break outside Walmart. These and so many like them serve us behind the scenes, and we rarely take notice. I urge you to pay attention in the next several days. "See" someone you've never seen before. Give that person your focused, personal attention, even if it's just for 10 seconds. That 10 seconds could make all the difference in someone's day. Or maybe, because El Roi is such a big God, it could change a life.