But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Take courage, daughter . . .” Matthew 9:22 (AMP)
Something I’ve learned about pain is that no one can really fix it except Jesus. In my life Jesus has used time, loved ones, writing, running, baking, reading, music, nature, crying, teaching, church, sleep, medicine, therapy, walking, movies, coffee, fruit, traveling, work, and dogs to heal me. But the biggest comfort is that I know He sees me. He really sees me.
If you do a word search you find that Jesus does a lot of seeing in the Gospels. He sees people and heals them. He sees their hunger and feeds them. He sees and has compassion, sees and gives peace, sees and rebukes, sees and forgives, sees and invites. He is the God who sees.
Glennon Doyle wrote, “We just need someone to see the pain. . . . To say: Yes. I see this. This is real. . . . We just need a witness.” I think we need to know that someone gets it. That we are not alone. I imagine that when Jesus turned and fixed His eyes on the lady who touched the hem of His garment, she felt Him. She knew He understood. “Take courage, daughter.” I am here. I see you.
The people who have helped me the most in my painful times are the ones who saw me and understood. They’re the ones who babysat my kids, brought me meals, sent cards, came to my house, and prayed with me. The ones who got me out of bed to walk, who listened over coffee, who did my laundry. The ones who let me know I was not alone.
Faith Step: Among the people you know, who do you see in pain? Or maybe it’s a stranger. Do something practical today to meet someone’s need. Let this person know he or she is not alone.
