From invisible to seen

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’ – Genesis 16:13

Invisible.

That’s how a mom with a spiritual wanderer often feels. Church holidays are the hardest. Watching families walk in—smiles on their faces, dressed in cute matching clothes, all sitting together with joy. It’s a beautiful thing, yet it brings hidden emotions to the surface of a hurting heart. Jealousy rises as you wish so badly this was still your family.

No one asks about your child anymore. Your pain is hidden. You bow your head, silently praying, “God, do you even see me?”

If someone had asked me to choose a Bible mom I’d like to be, I probably would’ve picked a big name like Rachel or Jochebed—moms who raised mighty children of God, whose names are remembered.

Never would I have chosen the mom I now identify with… Hagar.

As she fled that day, she found herself crying by a river. I can almost hear her sobs and her questions: “Why me?” She felt alone and afraid.

But beauty comes in what happens next.

An angel of the Lord came to Hagar. He spoke over her grief with truth. His words so deeply touched her that she gave God a new name—, the God who sees.

She now knew that whatever she would face, God was in it. He saw her and her tears. Her life was hard, but she could face it now because she believed she was seen by a loving God—and that her future was planned by His hand.

I want to believe as she did. I know my family didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. I know what it feels like to be lonely, invisible, and forgotten by God. But I can stay in that pain, or I can choose to believe that the God who saw Hagar sees me too. He knows my story—and its outcome.

He is the God who sees.

Mama, if this Mother’s Day you feel more like Hagar than Rachel—it’s okay. Hagar, in all her pain, is the only person in Scripture who gave God a name. Her suffering was turned into purpose as she gave birth to a nation—a nation God said would be mighty.

If He could turn her painful situation into a mighty purpose, He can do the same for your family. Your tears are not wasted, because there is a God who sees you.

He knows. He cares. And He has a mighty plan for redemption.

What now feels like affliction will soon become a divine appointment with your destiny.

Keep holding on, mama. You are seen by God.

Originally published on The Round Farmhouse Ministries, May 2023