The last few weeks have been extra full of doctor appointments for us. That has meant lots of driving, lots of waiting, and lots of anxiety for my daughter. The waiting room can become a very tricky place. When appointments are running behind significantly and my little one is filled to the brim with anxiety, it gets stressful. All the driving becomes stressful. The waiting. The explaining. The paperwork. The tough news. The learning. The new treatment plans. The meds. The dead ends.
Yes. Stressful.
Stressful and often lonely. Lonely because it feels so difficult to explain to others all that is going on in my head and my heart.
But isn’t that where the hard places in life tend to leave us all? Misunderstood? Stressed? Unknown? Lonely? Invisible?
I’m not sure where you are today and what you are dealing with…
Maybe it is a project at work not going right.
A relationship falling apart.
A confusing friendship.
Or maybe an unexpected and terrifying diagnosis.
Or maybe it is a heart wrenching loss.
Those are events filled with emotion. Feelings of stress. Anger. Grief. And ultimately feeling
misunderstood
unknown
invisible.
Thankfully, when the rest of our world seems to have disappeared, there will always be One remaining who is there understanding. Who is seeing us.
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
You see, it was a woman named Hagar who said this. She was in a very confusing situation. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, couldn’t have children. God had told them she would have children someday, however many years had passed and she believed that she was beyond childbearing years. In desperation to please her husband, she took the situation into her own hands and brought her servant, Hagar, to him to conceive a child.
Sara becomes resentful.
Hagar becomes boastful.
The situation becomes dreadful (as you can well imagine) as Sara takes out her resentment on Hagar.
A pregnant Hagar then runs away.
Can you imagine the stress? The confusion? The hurt? The loneliness? The feeling as though no one could possibly understand? Or know her heart?
But here is where the story fills with hope for Hagar and for us.
She was resting by a spring of water in the wilderness when an angel appeared to her. He told her three things.
- Go home and submit to the authority of your mistress (basically, go back and do the job you were given).
- She would be given uncountable descendants (a huge blessing!).
- The baby she was carrying was a son and his name was to be Ishmael which means “God hears”.
So, here she was. In a desperate place. Feeling invisible. Meaningless. Unknown. And an Angel of the Lord appeared at the side of a spring with some pretty hopeful news.
Hagar then says “You are the God who sees me,” … “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Genesis 16:13
And guess what she did? She went back home and faced her troubled situation with a renewed hope and faith that she would make it through this and there would be happy days on the other side of it.
Even when we are in a troubled situation and we feel as if the world misunderstands us, there is One who knows us. One who sees us. One who has a plan for us on the other side of this.
That gives us hope.
For me, it means that when the doctor appointments do not seem to have an end in sight and no one can promise healing for my daughter, God sees me in the middle of it all and understands every single emotion that pummels my heart. He understands every thought racing through my mind. Even the not-so-good thoughts. He reminds me I am not invisible and that He is always with me. It fills me with the hope to put the next foot in front of the other.
I pray that you, too, know that He sees you in the middle of right where you are. He knows you and you are not invisible. He has a plan for you and there will be happy days on the other side of this. I pray that you hold on to this hope and when those feelings creep back in you remember that.
He is the God who sees you.
Blessings and smiles,
Lori
Meet Lori
Lori Schumaker is a wife, Mom, writer, and blogger who loves searching every moment for grace, hope, and redemption. Her experiences as a teacher, a biological, adoptive, and special needs mama, and a faith based foster and adoptive support group leader give her a unique opportunity to witness the life-changing and hope-filled love of Christ. You can search the moments with her at www.lorischumaker.com.
