Hannah and Hagar have been on my mind lately. Two women who shared some pretty heavy stuff. One thing they shared in common was pregnancy. One wanted to get pregnant and couldn’t, the other was pregnant but, maybe wasn’t too happy about it. Another commonality was they were both treated badly by other catty, jealous women. That’s not fun. But what I’ve been thinking about was the last point they shared in common.
Wanting to be seen.
God comes to Hagar all pregnant and alone and promises her everything will be OK and blesses her. Hagar is happy and thankful and she cries out, “You are the God who sees me.”
Hannah was not pregnant and felt alone. She cried out at the temple, “Lord Almighty, look and see me and remember me and don’t forget me.”
I suppose we all want to be seen. By our spouses, our kids, our family and friends. We want to be appreciated and valued. And while those relationships are often wonderful, they cannot be the well that we fill up at. They cannot be the rock on which we stand.
Hannah reminds us of that. As she rejoices that God did indeed see her, she sings, “There is no Rock like our God!”
When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. Lead me to the God who sees me.