To Be Seen | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: To Be Seen | Previous Challenge Entry
By Debra Martinez
07/30/26
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The New Commandment: Love one another

I noticed a new face that morning, a slightly overweight teenage girl meandering down my road, eyes almost totally focused on the ground. “Just in time,” I thought, but she passed right on by my yard, failing to notice me, a frail old woman seated awkwardly on the ground. Seated was not exactly the right word, for, truth be told, I had fallen.

I had been trying to capture a small, mottled gray kitten that had been surreptitiously stealing food from Sam’s bowl on the porch all week. I was hoping to get it the care it needed to prevent another litter of unwanted kittens. But, it was so frightened by my attempts to coax it closer that it fled under the porch before I could take hold of it. Balance lost, down I went.

Now, I found myself in a mess. My late husband and I had in our seventies created a cardinal rule: never sit on the floor without a plan of how to get back up. In my defense, I had not planned to sit on the ground. And, at the ripe old age of eighty-three, I had no clear solution to my predicament.

“Excuse me!” I called, startling the girl. My voice has always been raspy, and I could see that it had caused consternation as she jerked her head in my direction. “Sorry,” I quickly added, “ but I really need some help.”

Warily, the girl came up the concrete steps and stood looking down at me. “Ma’am?”
she queried uncertainly. I waited, forcing her to meet my eyes. Lovely brown eyes she had, but filled with….I was not sure. After securing her attention, I simply spread my hands, indicating my dilemma, and to her credit, she caught on pretty quickly.

“Oh, of course,” she said, tentatively offering me her hand. I soon found myself on my feet, dusted off, and ready to offer my thanks, not only to the girl, but to the good Lord above, for my hips seemed to be in good enough working order.

As I started to speak, something in the girl’s expression gave me pause. Rather than offering a quick thanks and watching her depart down the road, I found myself wanting to gather her up in a hug, to bring a smile to that forlorn face.

Using my frailty as an excuse, I asked her to assist me into the house. She did not hesitate. Old people, especially old ladies of the great height of four feet eleven inches, do not tend to set off alarms in strangers. Strangers though we were, I had an unmistakable feeling. This, I was sure, was a divine appointment.

I soon discovered Marie’s story. It was not a new one. In foster care since she was eight, at fourteen, she found herself in her fourth placement, where she had been for less than a week. New school. New house. No need to call it a home. Implied in the words I wrenched from her was a sense of “What’s wrong with me.” I could almost see her self-loathing.

How did I know? Had I not once felt the same? The question now was, “Lord, what can I do to help this precious child learn that she is loved unconditionally? Can I plant the seed? Possibly water it? May I show her Your love?”

One truth I learned as a mediocre child: you can’t love others until you learn to love yourself. And, it is hard to find self love until one knows that they are loved. Once I found God’s love for me, and accepted myself as worthy in His eyes, everything changed. At last, I stopped worrying about how I was being seen by others and learned to see past my own sadness to be a catalyst for loving others.

I am the daughter of the King, unconditionally loved, made for good purposes that He has planned for me. Seeing others who feel unseen has become a blessing in my life. It was good to find another to nurture at this late date.

Marie is coming again with her foster mom’s approval to help this frail old gal, and what began as a divine appointment will hopefully continue until she knows her true worth.

And the grey kitten? We will just have to see.

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