Fabulous Las Vegas.  Glitz, glamour, bright lights and anything you can imagine (and many things you don’t want to imagine) at every turn.
Years after our last visit to the world renowned desert city, I took the opportunity to tag along on a business trip with my awesome husband.  While he was at his conference, I took did some sight-seeing out and about, visiting the other hotel/resorts up and down the strip to see a few specific exhibits and other spectacles. Avoiding driving in an unfamiliar and very busy city, I called a Lyft most of the time I ventured out, but one day I found myself taking the time to stroll back to my hotel along the strip from a nearby outing.
It was a warm afternoon as I walked, unusual for February, sun pouring down on my shoulders, spring-like and welcome.  Tourists teemed up and down the sidewalk.  But it wasn’t only tourists peopling the thoroughfare.  Every few feet on the strip, regardless of the time of day or night, someone was performing: singing, playing guitar, playing saxophone, dancing, doing magic, posing for tourist photos with all their, um, assets on view.  I paused to listen, to watch, to appreciate, as I wandered back to my home away from home.  So many talented people, truly, just waiting to be discovered, trying to snare an audience (anyone at all!) who will validate them with some spare change in their hat or guitar case.
As I later reflected, it occurred to me that every one of these performers had something in common aside from their geographical location.  They desperately wanted to be seen, recognized.  Here I am!  See me!  Tell me I’m good at this thing!  Appreciate my contribution!  See my value!  I worked hard at this, please acknowledge my effort!  Notice me!
And in them, I recognized myself, street corner notwithstanding.
Don’t we all desperately crave acknowledgment on some level?   Validation, affirmation that we matter?
I’m pretty confident you feel me, here.  We work hard, pour our hearts out, do all we can for our families, our jobs, our  ministries, our world.  And we want to be seen.  Truly seen.  I know I really do, more often that I want to admit.  Look at me!  Tell me I’m significant!  Notice what I’m doing here!
Which leads to an elemental question: how do we fulfill that core-level hunger for approval?  Where do we go to fill that longing?
Am I desperately dancing on a street corner for the spare change of someone’s afterthought attention?
Or am I quietly lifting my truest heart-song to the Audience of One- the One who sees me most deeply- the only One whose approval truly counts?
If I’m looking to the audience of humans around me to validate me, I will ultimately be disappointed.  My life will be focused on pleasing people, waiting for them to notice my 7 shades of awesome.  But I’m pretty sure the world won’t notice.  They’re too busy wanting people to notice THEM. Because we’re all human creatures, seeing to find the validation that our soul craves.
If I’m looking to the audience of One, my God, my Heavenly Father, to validate me, He will truly fill that need that no one else, no matter how much they love me, can fill.  He notices.  He sees.  He created my 7 shades of awesome.  And He will never disappoint me.
Who is my audience?  And who is in the spotlight?  That’s what I need to consider.  Because that makes all the difference.
May my heart cry be “Hey Dad, this is for YOU!” rather than “Hey everyone, look at me!”
Christian Women's Blog, Living Faith

1 thought on “Who’s in the Spotlight?

  1. Beautifully written and so true. We all want to be noticed and appreciated. Just a crumb of validation some days is enough. As humans we want the validation from our fellow humans and not so much from our Lord at least I do many days. I find I need to seek his love from his written word, as I read I see it everywhere. Oh how He loves me. I must sometimes say this often to myself and realize his everlasting and eternal love is all that matters. This is hard somedays living in this real world , but the more I seek him the less I need those constant credits from others. I am
    A work in constant progress and will be until I see him face to face. I am still human so a little pat on the back is nice at times and I fully believe that’s ok. That might just be what that person needed at the time and God used you to lift them up.

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