Consider a New Hero

 God Would Kneel Down

I think God might be a little prejudiced.

For once He asked me to join Him on a walk

through this world,

and we gazed into every heart on this earth,

and I noticed He lingered a bit longer

before any face that was

weeping,

and before any eyes that were

laughing.

And sometimes when we passed

a soul in worship

God too would kneel

down.

I have come to learn: God

adores His

creation. - Daniel Landinsky

This week I had the opportunity to work in a few different settings as I was out dropping off/picking up Peanut from her volunteer position.

Though the work was the same, the view was different each day as I tried out different spots in our community.

It's interesting how a change of scenery can change your perspective.

While at home, my view is my messy house, my barking dog, and my cluttered dining room table.

I often feel like my work is taking me from the other things that need to be done.

While working outside the home this week, I felt a new sense of thankfulness for work. For provision. For the ability to do good work remotely and on my own time schedule.

It was no longer an inconvenience but a gift.

I'm still slowly making my way through the Proverbs 31 bible study this summer. This week we read in Genesis 16 about Sarah and Hagar.

My bible study text asserts that Sarah was so "selfless" and shares of the times Sarah sacrifices for the "good" of her family. We are to glean from Sarah (they say) about how to be a good Proverbs 31 woman.

Selflessness apparently has its limits as Sarah ends up sending Hagar away after asking her to produce an heir for her husband.

(side note - if you haven't listened to the bible with your children - there's a lot of "Abraham went into Hagar" type stuff going on - which is a good moment to stop and consider consent and a wealth of other topics)

She's now threatened by this relationship. Jealous. The text asserts that Sarah's selflessness is something to be admired. That it's Sarah who is the role model here.

As is typical, the lesson the bible study is presenting isn't the one I gleaned.

What if we took this story and we looked at not from Sarah's point of view but from Hagar's? What if we changed the scenery? What if we "worked" the story through a different lense?

Abraham and Sarah can't have a child. So they come up with their own solution. Abraham talks. Sarah talks. Neither God nor Hagar talk.

When things become difficult, Sarah jumps ship. She's "all done" as my toddlers used to announce. If you don't like something, get rid of it. She sends Hagar away.

Here we see Hagar talk. And then we see God talk.

We see God recognize the immigrant. The refugee. The slave. We see God give them a voice. And honor it.

We see how things have always been done challenged. Questioned. Changed.

We see a God of radical love.

What if the hero isn't Sarah for being selfless (questionable at best) but what if it's Hagar for seeing God for who He really is and being the first biblical character to recognize a God who sees the lost and suffering?

Mama Warriors, I am most certainly not a biblical expert and won't ever tell you there is "one" way to read/understand a story.

I will challenge you as you read anything to think about the scenery? Would the story read differently if you considered someone else the hero? Would the lesson look different?

Is there space for the outsiders to be the hero in the version of the story that you write?

As we continue through a political election year, I ask that you do the same thing.

With each big issue, can you sit for a minute and view the story through a different lens?

Can you consider the view from those less fortunate, refugees, immigrants, single moms, etc. ?

Can you consider it through the lens of not just Sarah but Hagar?

Can you make space for a different hero?