Being seen and Seeing

Learning to see myself as God sees me

As I stood by the train station, I started to ponder my desire to be seen, to be acknowledged.

In October 2025, I went on a retreat. My first reason was that I needed it, as September had been intense. I also wanted to meet Pastor Yasmin in person, and I was drawn to the theme “the activation of God’s yes woman.” At the time, I knew that something in me needed to be activated, and I wanted to say yes to God.

I could not have foreseen what the Lord had in store for me.

Long story short, while I was at my lowest point, with many questions about my identity, my worth, and my purpose, Pastor Yasmin said to me:

“Marie, I do not know you in the flesh, but I know you in the spirit.”

These words shook me to the core.

Someone was seeing me.

Beyond my failures, my shortcomings, my limitations, someone was seeing me and, in a way, imparting to me the ability to become who God was calling me to be.

But there was a reason I stood still without taking action. I was glad to be seen and to know how God was seeing me, but I could not yet see myself.

I was still struggling with shame, self-condemnation, and insecurity. I was trying to make sense of what did not need an explanation, trying to find my worth in the eyes and actions of others.

And I realised the problem: I wanted others to see me before I could see myself. There was still a part of me that could not define itself or feel fulfilled outside of the perceptions of others.

I was filled with insecurity.

From this realisation, I began to wonder:

How do I become so certain of who I am that whatever people say or do not say, whatever they do or do not do, I remain secure in who I am in Christ?