Really? Really?

Today's reading always shocks me.  I know in today's world, you say how can this shock you?  Well, after being a woman, serving women in ministry, and listening all my life it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  What woman willingly shares her man?  Oh it happens, but it's trouble.  How could you not figure that out long before it happens?

Sarai tells Abram go sleep with my servant.  So he does.  I mean seriously?  WE are human.  WE don't share well and this is some serious sharing.  Anyway, it happens and well stuff starts happening right away.  Hagar the other woman immediately becomes pregnant and treats Sarai with contempt.  Well, first off Hagar got no vote in the whole matter.  She is a servant and she did what she was told, so now she is having a baby something Sarai couldn't do.  Serious payback, don't you think?  When we take matters into our own hands, we can really mess things up.  Now God will use our mess to His glory, but we are going to really struggle in the middle of these messes and perhaps for a really long time afterwards, but He will use it.

I do love the part of this story and it really touched me this morning where Hagar is treated harshly by Sarai and she ran away.  She goes to a spring of water and sits down.  An angel comes and shares for Hagar to return and submit to Sarai.  The angel also makes a promise that she will have more descendants than she can count.  The verse that touches me is where Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD which meant "You are the God who sees me."  The comfort this woman felt rushes over me.  God saw her.  She mattered and she felt the love.  She was a servant, she felt nobody saw her, but the LORD sees her!  Wow, the comfort and peace rushes over you, when you realize God sees you too!

Friend, God does see us and He will help us deal with our messes, because more than likely at times we will take things into our own hands.  We humans mess up, but God knows we do and that we will.  I believe with all my heart He just wants us to acknowledge these mess ups, so He can help us through the clean up process and that word that is mentioned above that none of us like a lot.  Did you notice God told her to go back and submit.  Submit isn't an easy thing for anybody, but we are sometimes called to just that...

Today, are you feeling like nobody sees you?  Well, that is not true.  God does.  Call out and let Him share with you His comfort and His love to get you through whatever you might be facing today!

I love birds and they are a wonderful reminder that if God provides for the birds in the sky, He definitely will provide for you and me!  I watched this little bird pester the food out of little fella sitting on the side of the Grand Canyon and was very entertained.

Sweet blessings,

Debbie