The God Who Sees Me (Genesis 16)

Invisible. Overlooked. Inferior.

I sit alone in the tent of slaves, trying to prepare myself for the day. Work. Unrelenting, overwhelming. I am no one.

I rise slowly and drink stale water from a jug. The old woman gets angry if I am slow. So I hurry in the darkness to the well. I climb down the uneven mud steps and draw fresh water for her and the old man.

I arrive at the tent. Good. They still sleep. I set my jug down and get to work on the bread, taking the barley I ground yesterday and mixing up a loaf.

Inevitable

I was talking with a group of seminary students a few weeks ago about the plight of Baptist women in ministry. One of the students, a female, recounted how a representative from one of the more “moderate” Baptist institutions told her that women in ministry is “inevitable.” He went on to say that, if she really wanted to preach, maybe she should consider church planting rather than pastoral ministry. I suspect the representative meant well, but his comments deeply hurt this young woman. She is a talented preacher. She is an excellent student. She works diligently as an intern at her current church. But she has already faced rejection in Baptist life because of her gender. She was one of two final candidates for a youth ministry position. But the church ultimately rejected her because she is female.