Known by God

Genesis 16:13 She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me! Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him.”

God sees us, each of us, deep into our innermost being. God witnesses us and everything we do.

When my mother died suddenly several years ago, I was unprepared for the onslaught of grief. I loved my mother, of course, but she was a difficult person to get close to, stoic, independent and private. On my birthday, especially, I felt her loss, and I realized she had always been there, from the beginning, even before the beginning. What is my birthday if not homage to her and what she did for me? She was the one I performed for – Mommy, see, look at me, look what I did! – who had walked with me from my very first steps through all that life brought: marriage, the birth of my child, the death of my husband and then a new marriage. She stood as a witness to everything I had ever been. Did I actually even exist if she wasn’t there to see me?

Here, Hagar is discovering that God is also the witness to our lives. God sees and understands more truly than any human being possibly can. So even though my mother is gone, God is with me to witness all I have done and all I will ever do. God sees me. God is my witness. Now I perform my life for the delight of God.

Prayer: Dear God, I thank you for your witnessing presence in my life, for knowing me better than I know myself, for inviting me on your path, guiding me when I lose my way, picking me up when I stumble, rejoicing in my victories, consoling me in my defeats. Let all that I am and all that I do be for your delight and honor. Amen.