July 16, 2026
The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
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 16:11&13
This week, our youth group is up in the mountains for a retreat. We have keynote speakers every morning, small groups to attend with the other 700 conferees, and evening worship and preaching. The other night, the worship leaders distributed blank name tags and the preacher asked us to think about our identity, who we are to God and one another. Many of us put some version of beloved child of God because of the lessons in the sermon. As I explained the concept to my 6 year old son, and gave him some examples, he asked me to write… “Part of the family. SPECIAL part of the family!”
My son chose that because that’s how he’s made to feel at home and that’s how he was treated this week. The big high school kids who have shared his house this week have welcomed him to the table, to their downtime playing games on their phones, and to their hike up the mountain. I snapped a picture of them as they fell into step surrounding him up the trail like a backwoods security detail. I watched them answer questions about their favorite Pokémon and take an interest in his. And I listened as they shared highs and lows late each evening when he was in bed that often included their quality time with this little travel companion.
Our keynoter and preacher have reminded us all week that we don’t go anywhere alone. God is with us and surrounds us with community. They’ve shared this story about Hagar who named God who found her in the desert as the one who sees her and instructed her to name her son as “God hears.” What a blessing and reminder that God comes to us, chases us, seeks us, and always finds us. God listens and sees us and makes us feel seen. Our youth have embodied that this week, good practice for their summer and school year ahead. God surrounds us like a security detail, listens to our joys and struggles, God delights in us, and God calls us to do the same.
Prayer
Lord, remind me you see and hear me, always. And make me as observant and responsive to those in need as you promise to be to me. Amen.
Rev. Brian Daoust
Associate Pastor for Mission & Youth
Login To Leave Comment