My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.

Luke 1:46-50

How does a person actually weigh the evidence of the world and emerge feeling well and truly loved? This is a question of the ages, but I am going to venture a guess.

We feel loved when we feel seen.

When we feel as if a person sees us, beyond the performances we give, the disguises we don to make ourselves more acceptable to the world, we feel loved. When we feel seen at our core, our most fully vulnerable, and then we are accepted and delighted in, this is how we experience profound love.

I feel the most loved by my husband not when he brings me flowers or sweeps in with grand romantic gestures (which is good because those are rare), but when I wake up with morning breath or pull on the same pair of yoga pants for the fourth day in a row and he still wants me around. I feel loved when a friend says they miss me and means it. I feel loved when my kids turn to me for comfort after a skinned knee or a broken LEGO masterpiece. I feel loved when I feel truly seen, and then realize that my true self has value.

In the Advent story, we see this happen time and time again. Regular, ordinary people are fully seen by God, and then included in the most important of all stories. Anna at the temple. Simeon. Elizabeth. Mary. Joseph, The shepherds, the Magi. All of these people are not remarkable by their accomplishments or their societal worth, but instead, they are seen and beloved and included by God in their very ordinariness.

In the Old Testament, Hagar refers to the Lord as the God Who Sees Me. And that is who God is. One who sees us, at our essence. At our very ordinariness, and by that in our remarkable originality. A God who sees us, flaws, heartbreak, smallness and fear, and sees someone of insurmountable beauty. Breathtaking worth. Someone worthy of a seat at the Table, a name in the Story. God sees you fully. And loves you completely. Breathe deeply into that truth today.