“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13
As we set up our table last week at the Farmer’s Market, I had a heart to heart with my boys as to our plan that day. I said, “Today, we aren’t here just to sell things, we are here to ‘see’ people.” If that means a day of smiling on the sidewalk, saying hello, or telling a story about our table, we do what it takes that everyone that crosses our path is seen. That is success to me. So as stick fights began and other things pulled their attention, what became visible to passersby was a back and not a face with eyes to see them. It may seem a lot to ask a child to “see” people as often they themselves want to be “seen,” don’t we all? Have you ever made a decision to just be present and “see” who the Lord sends on your path in a particular day? I’ve come to believe that one way God is omnipresent is through our eyes; the eyes of the people He made to “see” the other people He created. When we look into the eyes of another it is like looking into the eyes of God Himself, the creator.
A series of experiences was set off from this event that reminded me the importance of “seeing” people. Those experiences involved me left feeling overlooked, discarded, categorized, judged, and invaluable to others. As I sat with those very uncomfortable feelings, God pointed me to a woman who knew just how that felt, Hagar. Hagar probably wouldn’t be selected as a featured “Woman of the Year.” Her entrance into the story is less than glamorous. She was a maidservant, picked to carry a child for a prominent man because his wife didn’t believe she would have a baby in the timeline God provided. So, lack of faith, trust, and patience led to her being chosen for this task. This wasn’t just any task; it involved use of Hagar’s body, mind, and spirit fully. She had to commit daily to carrying this “task” to completion. Her body took significant physical demand, as a pregnancy is no easy feat. Not only that, but her entire pregnancy, she likely wasn’t having baby showers and joyously counting down the days with her husband until the baby arrives. She probably wasn’t being made over around the village. No, I can only imagine she felt like a vessel carrying a much anticipated child to which she would be forgotten afterwards.
Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and I bet when that baby peered up to her, Hagar felt “seen.” Despite how that baby was created or what her status or relationships were, Hagar was now a mother and for 13 years she walked with others who likely looked down upon her, cast aside as a caregiver for Abraham’s son; until the peak moment when Abraham’s wife Sarah miraculously birthed her own son, Isaac. A son she hadn’t believed would come in her old age, yet here it happened as God had said it would. The tension of which son would be heir led to Hagar and Ishmael being “sent away.” Again, imagine the range of emotions Hagar and Ishmael must have felt that day after living in a community for 13 years at which at the birth of another are sent away. Maybe shame, humiliation, fear, rejection, bitterness….
But God….
He met Hagar in the literal and figurative desert she was in. When her water ran out, Hagar sat her son down, walked a short distance away….
“And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’” Genesis 21: 16-18
Hagar was “seen” and while cast aside from people, He had not forgotten her. He had a new plan for Hagar and her son. The path was likely paved with difficulties, hardships, and struggle, but we all have that. We all have a story and all of us have been cast aside by someone, but God…He shows up to give us just what we need when we need it if we trust in Him alone.
At our home, we are focusing on the word “trust,” this school year and each week are looking at a verse of the Bible featuring that word. This week’s has been:
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.” Psalm 37:5
If we commit our way to the Lord, and trust Him, He will fight for us, act for us, go ahead of us, and care for us.
God sees us!
God blessed us with eyes to see and for those who cannot see, he gave you ears to hear, hands to feel, noses to smell, and a mouth to taste. More important a heart, mind, and soul to love. You can make a difference in someone’s moment, day, week, month, year, or lifetime! One conversation, one look, one card or letter, one meal offered to “see” someone, to acknowledge their pain, their story.
God powerfully saw me through the eyes of a beautiful woman He created named Rose. Many years ago, God gave her eyes for me. She called me one evening to check on me while she had her own physical battle going on. Though she was physically weak, her spirit was strong and though I was physically strong, I was spiritually weak. She labored to prepare a meal for my husband and me as we navigated raising a young child, me working full time, my husband suffering a debilitating injury that took him out of work, and the woes that followed all that. She showed up that night and opened her trunk with a freshly made hot meal on beautiful dishes. I had never felt more “seen” by that humbling act and it forever changed me. When she passed, I vowed to become more like Rose. God gave me eyes to see those who felt unseen.
So, yes, as I stand on a sidewalk, drive down the road, or walk down grocery store aisles, I am always looking. Looking for the one who needs to be seen because many times that someone has been myself and I didn’t even know it.
The picture I share today, I shared one other time. It was a very unglamorous picture taken during COVID masking times. It covers all of my face but my eyes and removes the distraction of any other feature or ability, just my ability to “see.”
Who can you “see” differently today?
Is there someone you are casting aside, judging, or discarding without even realizing it?
Father, help us to see others as you see them!
On the journey with you, Julie
Father, Today I Surrender:
My Eyes
Show me the next step I should take.