I sit in on the art class and make my way around the room as the kids draw and paint and create. They’re eight years old. They’re so alive, so themselves, untouched by life.
“Tia, tia, mirar!” they scream. “Teacher, teacher, look!”
Each and every one wants to show off their piece of art, their piece of creativity. They’re so proud of themselves, and I’m so proud of them not for what they’ve done, but for how they feel. They’re excited to just live.
All day long at school we hear these words. “Tia, tia, mirar!”
LOOK AT ME.
Look at me their souls scream.
Tell me my drawing is pretty.
Tell me I’m funny.
And smart.
And wanted.
Tell me I’m enough.
This never goes away.
We are still screaming for people to look at us. We’re craving to be confirmed and wanted and seen. We’ve just silenced our voices. But our insides are still yelling, begging for more.
Someone care.
Someone look at me.
We search for it in other hidden ways. Girls post selfies upon selfies on instagram, editing with care and attention to perfection. The amount of likes confirms how beautiful you are, right? People sleep around just to feel whole and wanted in some sort of way. We check our phones obsessively, hoping there’s a message from someone, anyone. Cause then that means I have significance in this world. Someone needs me.
But we don’t say these things because, of course that would be too vulnerable. What would happen if you actually said all of the deep rooted fears that consumed your mind? People would probably love you less. Or maybe, people would actually love you more.
There’s something special about words. They’re meant to be used, they’re meant to be whispered in the sweet moments, and echoed from the rooftops in the heartrenching ones. And when we use them, something in our heart lifts.
You’re never as alone
as you think you are.
We’re all screaming on the inside, look at me. Tell me I’m beautiful and you want me in your life.
We search so hard for confirmation from the world and from people. But it’s never going to be enough. People will never be enough. Your boyfriend, your husband, your best friend, your mother. Those people, they’re wonderful, but they can’t give you your worth.
We’re created with a whole in our chests that only Jesus can fill.
Our hearts belong to the one who made them.
The one who sees us as talented, and funny, smart, and worthy, beautiful, and captivating in every sense of the word. We need to find our worth and our confirmation of who we are from Jesus. He is just waiting for us to talk to Him. He’s waiting for us to show Him our painting, to ask Him what He thinks of us.
“Look at me,” we scream.
“I’ve seen you all along” He says.
