This painting was done as an illustration for the book, Dear Divine Daughter. Hagar’s is a fascinating story. She was not Abraham’s wife and therefore had no status. Her very title, Hagar, Hebrew for stranger, marks her as an outsider. Sometimes we feel like Hagar, left behind as we watch those around us become what we would wish to be and yet are not. Sometimes it can feel as if the Lord is blessing everyone but us. And yet, here is a story of the Lord coming to a runaway Egyptian slave to remind her that He sees her and will bless her—a non-covenant woman—to be the mother of a great nation. Hagar reminds us that the Lord is aware of us and is mindful of our struggles even when, maybe especially when, our only desire is to flee.
