When I was a little girl there was a children’s show that I’d watch every morning. At the end of the show, the host, whose name was Miss Nancy, would look at the TV camera through a mirror frame and call out the names of some of the children she could see. “I see Mary and Anthony and Sandy and Elizabeth. I see Joey, Bobby and Sarah.” At the end of every show, I’d wait to see if she’d call my name. “Here I am!” I’d say to the TV. “Do you see me?”
Sometimes I’d raise my hand and wave because, she was looking directly at me, right? I loved the host and showed up every day to see HER, but why didn’t she see ME? “I see Carolyn. I see Martha. I see Robert, William, Susan and John.” Sometimes, I’d think, “You see John, again? You saw him last week!” In my heart, I thought there should be some recognition of my faithfulness to the show. But the reality was, she called the names that were most common to make the largest number of children feel seen. There weren’t many little girls named, “Wilma.” I could have shown up each day for years and, more than likely, she never would have “seen” me. While it made me sad, as a kid, it also made me vow that, “when I grow up, I’m going to make sure that people know that I see them.”
Fast forward. Not only does God see me, now, He saw me every day back then, too. I just didn’t know it. And, let’s face it, I’d rather be seen by God than Miss Nancy any day!
Have you ever felt unseen?
God took that unforgettable occurrence and, somehow, He managed to take my experience of feeling unseen to place a determination in my heart that, on my watch, no one would ever feel unseen. So, I’m here to tell you, no matter how unique your name may be, whether you’re a Shonda, O’Keefe, Duke, Oreoluwa, Kennedy or yes, even a “Wilma” God sees you, He knows your name and best of all, you are His.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1
Keep the Faith, LifeSpeakers!
Wilma
Encouraged? Share, subscribe and receive a new blogpost each Monday along with our monthly LifeSpeaker’s Love Letters – on the first day of the month. Follow on IG/TikTok @WilmaHollisLifeSpeak. Subscribe to our YouTube channel @LifeSpeakTV. Learn to win every battle and declare God’s word with LifeSpeak 101: Speak Life and Win (Amazon). LifeSpeak 102 – COMING SOON. Please DM all prayer requests through my IG account @wilmahollislifespeak. Keep the Faith, LifeSpeakers!
