I See – You’re Invisible
Recently clicked on a link on a friend’s Facebook page to listen to a speaker give a message about feeling invisible. The video was titled “The Invisible Woman: Inspiring Motivational Speech about Women.” The ironic thing was, I couldn’t find the speaker’s name anywhere!
Although the audio was difficult to hear, you could still get the message – loud and clear. The woman speaking shared some of her painful experiences of being a wife/mom. She painted a disturbing picture of a loving mom and wife who basically felt worthless when time after time, no one seemed to even notice she was in the room.
I think the best part of the video (for me) was when the speaker shared a story about when a friend of hers gave her a book about the great cathedrals of Europe. She noted that many of the builders were unknown. Her friend wrote a message inside the book, and compared her and everything she does for her children/family to those ‘unknown’ builders of the cathedrals. For several years they dedicated their lives to carving, designing and building something absolutely beautiful – for what? No names revealed – no recognition.
Heartbreaking…. But I think it’s a good reminder that every good deed doesn’t need to be out there for everyone to know. God knows – and that’s all that truly matters, right?
If you aren’t a mom, perhaps you can relate to this…
Have you ever walked into a crowded room, and felt so uncomfortable because not one single person took the time to greet you or even look your way? Or maybe you’ve made a statement, given a suggestion or asked a question among a small group – and the only response was silence? Worse yet, you attempted to reach out to someone, only to find that they must not have time for you because they never responded?
Those feelings that you aren’t important – even for a moment – are so painful. If you’ve experienced it, you never forget it.
So, how does all of this tie together? I think we all have those times when we don’t’ feel appreciated, or worse yet – invisible. Sometimes we fall into that trap of comparing our lives to others, and then question why we are even here.
Then you find yourself asking – what IS my purpose?
I confess that I struggled with that question for years. For almost 28 years, my husband and I were involved in the ministry. He never made me feel this way, and neither did the people in the congregations we served, but “I” made myself feel inadequate because I compared myself to other women who were either married to a minister or were serving in the church. I couldn’t sing, I couldn’t play a piano, and I was not a leader of women’s groups etc. – all those things that “I” thought made an ideal minister’s wife.
The dangerous thing is when you start focusing on what you lack, you stop using what God gave you to use – for him. It has taken a lot of time for me to finally see what my purpose is, but thankfully I finally listened to the one who created me. : )
If you are having a difficult time trying to figure out what your purpose is, don’t give up. “He is sowing. He is sovereign. He is doing His wildly wonderful work in you, not by the flip of a switch, but by the journey of a seed pushing through the dirt into the warmth of sunlight.” ~ Lysa Terkeurst
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14
Live-Write 
Understand this, and I agree being invisible is hard, think we all want to be recognized. The hardest part is understanding that it’s our Daddy who sees everything and when he’s pleased nothing else matters.
Agree. After I shared this on Facebook, a friend of mine pointed out that “the Holy Spirit is not visible to most either and He is still about the will of the Father.” Doing his will, doing what’s right -that’s what our focus should be on – but it’s still difficult sometimes!