I see you, girl. I saw you slip in quietly before worship started to sit in a sea full of families. Week after week, I notice you. I notice the empty seat next to you. I notice you, sitting by yourself for the hundredth, maybe thousandth time. Maybe that empty seat next to you is where "he" should be. Maybe that empty seat next to you is where your family should be. Or maybe your husband, your kids, your best friend.

I see you, girl. I see your frustration, your hopelessness, your grief; I know your thoughts. Right now, I'm praying for you. I know the defeat you feel in your heart when you skip a Sunday morning sermon because you don't want to sit alone. I've been there and I'm praying. I know the sadness in your heart when you see crowds of families - mom, dad, kids. I've been there too. I know the discouragement in your heart when you have no one to discuss the sermon with after. I've been in your seat.

I've been you, girl. Maybe we're in different seasons with different reasons, but all with the same empty seat. Right now, I'm praying for you. Maybe you're a single mom. Maybe you're married and your husband chose not to come, again. Maybe you're single, longing for the companionship of a Godly man while braving the waves of other families and couples in a family-centric environment. Or maybe you're still in the waiting game of hoping and praying that your significant other would believe and share their faith that you hold so dear. No matter your circumstance, no matter the pain, the vulnerability that comes with sitting alone is all the same. And until it's been you, next to that empty seat, you will never understand.

Whatever season you're in, I urge you - do not quit. Do not stop coming to church. Do not stop reading your bible or praying or pressing into God. Do not be angry with God for he is working all of this out in ways you cannot even comprehend. You aren't doing this for "him," you're doing this for you. You - young lady, old, somewhere-in-between, this is exactly where you're supposed to be. I see you and so does God and you are being filled to full by the fullness of the Lord.

I want you to know that I see you and make it known that you matter. Allow God to fill you up and then let God fill that empty seat.