Can You See Me?

How my children used to love to build forts.
Give them a few blankets, put them near a large sofa, and the building would begin.
An old country bench placed strategically close to the sofa would suffice.
A ladder back chair placed at one end gave the blanket just enough height.

It was a secret place.
It was a place of hiding even though they were fully seen.
It was a place to which I was sometimes invited.
There was something magical about fort building.

What a thrill to take everyday objects and position them in an imaginative way.
How exciting to be in the same room with me but also in their own special place.
I would smile as the invitations only seemed to be for the little ones in the family.
For just this once, no big people were allowed.

I remember learning something in a child development class in college.
It fascinated me since I had seen it happen but did not know it had a name.
Object permanence is something that is not fully developed until babies are 8 or 9 months old.
It is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed.

By touching and handling objects, infants develop object permanence.
Before that developmental stage, things they cannot see do not exist.
We all know this to be true whenever we play peek-a-boo with a baby.
If we hide our face, even though our body is still visible, they will look away.

For that moment, we cease to exist.
When the baby can see our face again, they have a look of sheer delight on their face.
We came back, even though we never left.
To them, when we were out of sight, we were gone.

I wonder if that is why children love to play hide and seek.
We have all seen young children hide.
They think that hiding behind a tree that does not even cover their entire body, will suffice.
We can see their arms and legs poking out from behind the tree.

Since their face is hidden and they cannot see us, they think that their hiding place is just fine.
Parents play along with their young children.
I can’t see you, we say when we know all the while where our children are hiding.
They giggle and squirm but since their face is unseen, they think they are hiding.

It is important for children to go through these developmental stages.
However, as we get older, we learn more and more about the world around us.
We understand concepts that we could not comprehend when we were young.
We know that just because something is not seen, does not mean that it does not exist.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

We cannot see God but we know that He exists.
Some people say that not seeing God and praying to the air is a lesson in futility.
We, who are in Christ, need to show them the present reality of God in our lives.
We need to show them how very real God is to us.

Jesus had strong words for those that asked for proof.
Faith is not about proof and seeing with our eyes, rather faith is about believing.
Jesus commended the latter and rebuked the former.
Hope that is seen is no hope at all. (Romans 8:24)

We do not see the wind, but we see the effects of the wind.
We do not see the Holy Spirit working in our lives but we see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The fact that something is not seen does not mean it does not exist.
There is a point where our sight stops and our faith takes over.

I thought of all of this as I was driving in the car.
I was listening to a playlist I made for a friend many years ago when her husband died.
I heard a song that I have not listened to in a while.
It brought tears to my eyes.

I walked every morning with this friend who was also a neighbor.
I walked with her through the horrific journey from the diagnosis to the death of her husband.
I made other playlists of worship songs that they both listened to on their way to his treatments.

It seemed appropriate that one playlist focused on faith.
I called that playlist: A Hope Mix.
It was not a journey she planned, but it was a journey he traveled with hope.
This was the journey she was on and I had the privilege to literally walk with her.

God is so very near us.
We do not see Him with our eyes, but we see Him through the eyes of faith.
One day our faith will be sight.
Until then, we know for certain that God sees us; we are never out of His sight.

There is not a moment when God cannot see us.
Even in our secret places He is there.
Even when we struggle to find Him, He is there.
God can see us; we are never alone.

That is our greatest comfort.