The God Who Sees

If I were to be honest, the question that plagues my mind is not "Does God exist?" Rather, in the darkness of my selfish wanderings I often ask "Does God see me and does He care?" Along the same lines, I don't question God's intervention in the big areas of my life. I feel very confident that He has placed me in the right family, given me a (wonderful) husband, and directed my many steps thus far. The problem I face is finding him as I sit behind a slow driver, misplace a valued item, or struggle to pay an unexpected bill.

Last week while Greer was taking swimming lessons, I was privy to an experience that left me calling out a resounding "yes" to the question "Does God care?" and reminded me that God's love goes before me and hems me in from behind. Let me share the story with you...

The class of 7 and 8-year-olds that followed Greer's class had just begun and the students were sitting on the edge of the pool. One of the participants, we'll call her Sarah, came around the gate. She was late and her mother dropped her off before going to find a parking place. Sarah walked around the pool to join her class, but before she could get all of the way to them, they began oohing and aahing over her new bathing suit. One girl shouted out, "WOW! I love your new bathing suit. The colors are so pretty!" Even the boys joined in with compliments. By the time that she had arrived at her position, everyone had given their unanimous approval of her new suit.

Not such an uncommon experience you might think, until you learn that Sarah is about 50 pounds overweight, and is probably not used to getting complimented on her appearance. I joined most of the onlookers in being excited that a group of children who are more likely to tear others down with their words, had elevated this little girl to walking on the clouds.

About that time her mother entered the gate unaware of what had just taken place, so I shared with her the class' approval of Sarah's new bathing suit. She told me that they were late because Sarah had refused to put on this new swimsuit, and it took the convincing of her great-grandmother to get her to wear it. Ding-Ding-Ding A light went off in my head. HE SAW. None of those children knew that the lime green tank with cut outs on each side and fluorescent peace symbols throughout had brought Sarah such a sense of embarrassment, but the God of the universe chose them to remind this little girl that she was indeed the object of his delight.

The lesson for me that day- God's delight is not reserved for those that have it all together. God's delight is not reserved for those that wear the right size or have the large bank account or have the right personality. God sees all of life's seemingly mundane events and orchestrates them to prove that He is The One Who Sees. My response is to turn from staring at what clouds my view (the problems of life) and to gaze into the character of the God who loves and delights in me so that I might be privileged to love and delight in Him. Even today I needed this reminder to lift me up from the focus on self that has trapped my thinking. Thank you God for opening my eyes to your glory and helping me see!