The Reality of the Unseen

I’m sometimes surprised that my daughter asks about a baby she never knew.

“What kinds of things would Micah like to play with?”

“How did you know that Micah died?”

“Why did Micah die?”

These are a few of the questions she has asked recently, and just like the rest of us, she is left to wonder about the unknown answers to most of them.

And without answers to her questions, I am even more surprised that she has the ability to acknowledge a baby she has never seen. She draws pictures for the sibling who is gone, just as she does for the sibling who is here. She picks out toys and decorations to place on Micah’s grave as if she were picking out a special gift for the sibling whom she celebrates birthdays with. I am amazed how she shows love for a baby who remains unseen.

But isn’t that what we are called to do? Love the unseen? Acknowledge the reality of the unseen? And talk about the wonders of the unseen to others?

We are made to love an unseen God. We are called to share the reality of an unseen Jesus, and the reality of a certain, but unseen future. Just because something is unseen, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.

Each day, my daughter sings the praises of a God she has never seen. She writes letters to God and says she loves Jesus, declaring her commitment and love for them without ever having seen them. So, really, it makes sense that she has the ability to form a connection with a sibling who she hasn’t seen either. A sibling who shares the same blood, the same genes as her.

It can be hard for others to understand a mother’s attachment to a baby who died during pregnancy, and maybe it’s even harder to understand that the attachment to a baby who is gone-too-soon extends to the entire family.

But is it really much different than our attachment to our Heavenly Father, the one who is unseen, but impacts our lives each day? He is unseen, but we continue to show him love and He continues to change us.

Although unseen, Micah’s life was not imagined. Just like God isn’t imagined. Micah has made an impression on our lives just as God does. And while I don’t mean to compare my baby with our Holy God, I am only trying to make the point that Micah was real, despite living an exceptionally short life. It can be so easy to overlook the lives of babies who die during pregnancy, but the impact on the lives of those who loved them is proof that they were here and mattered.

And just like I am sure that a day will come where God will no longer be unseen and we will look into the eyes of Jesus, I am just as sure that we will also come face-to-face with Micah again. The unseen will become visible and we will forever be changed.