The Circle of Becoming: Self-Discovery •Becoming • Purpose

A soft reminder for the woman whose motherhood journey didn’t start how she planned — but who knows God hasn’t left her behind.

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There’s something about Hagar’s story that makes you stop in your tracks.

Especially if you’ve ever felt overlooked. Misunderstood. Used.

Especially if you became a mother in a way that didn’t follow the plan you thought God had for your life.

See, when most people talk about Genesis 16, they focus on Sarah and Abraham.

The promise. The waiting. The impatience.

But Hagar — Hagar is the one we rarely sit with.

The servant girl. The Egyptian. The outsider. The one with no voice in the room.

And yet… God called her by name.

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A Woman Without a Choice

Let’s talk about it. Hagar didn’t ask to be part of this story.

She didn’t beg to sleep with Abraham. She didn’t scheme to become pregnant.

She was told — by Sarah, her mistress — to bear a child with the man of the house.

She didn’t have power. She didn’t have protection. She didn’t have a say.

And then when she did exactly what she was told… she got punished for it.

Shamed. Mocked. Abused. Cast out.

That part right there? It’s too real.

Because how many of us did what we thought was the right thing — or at least the only thing we could do — and still ended up abandoned?

She runs away. Pregnant. Alone. In the wilderness.

Can you imagine the grief? The fear?

The ache of carrying a child and not knowing where you’ll lay your head?

Not knowing if you’ll survive long enough to give birth?

Not knowing who you are anymore?

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But Then… El Roi

Right there, in the desert — not at a temple, not at a family gathering, not during a “praise break” — God shows up.

And not just in a vague way.

“The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert…”

— Genesis 16:7

Did you catch that?

He found her.

That means He was looking for her.

He didn’t wait for her to get herself together. He didn’t wait for her to stop crying.

He met her right in her wilderness — tired, hurting, unwashed, confused — and still worthy of divine attention.

Then He does something no one else in the story had done.

“Hagar, slave of Sarai…”

— Genesis 16:8

He calls her by name.

Not just a role. Not just her circumstance. Not her reputation. Her name.

He sees her as a person.

That’s what started to shift something in me.

Because there have been seasons in my own life — especially as a single mom — where I didn’t feel seen.

I felt labeled. Judged. Talked about.

But not called by name.

So when Hagar responds in verse 13:

“You are the God who sees me… I have now seen the One who sees me.”

I felt that deep.

Like, in-the-bottom-of-my-gut deep.

Because she wasn’t just saying “God exists.”

She was saying, “I’ve been invisible my whole life — but this moment changed everything. God sees the me no one else bothered to know.”

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Purpose in the Wilderness

But here’s the part that a lot of people miss — and this is where our soul needs to lean in:

“The angel of the Lord told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’”

— Genesis 16:9

Now hear me — this isn’t about going back into suffering.

This is not a permission slip to return to abuse.

God didn’t send her back to be harmed.

He sent her back because her story wasn’t finished yet.

Because He had a word over her womb.

A destiny over her child.

A future too big to be aborted in the wilderness.

“I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

— Genesis 16:10

Sound familiar?

It’s the same kind of promise He gave Abraham.

That means Hagar wasn’t just a side piece to someone else’s promise — she had a covenant too.

Let that sink in, sis.

The same God who promised legacy to Abraham promised legacy to Hagar.

To a single mama.

To a woman with no titles, no money, no support system — just a womb and a word from God.

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This Isn’t a Bridge Back to Where You Came From

Now let me be clear — and I say this with all the love and fire in my belly:

This isn’t a message to go back to what broke you.

God doesn’t send us back to bondage.

He may send us back with understanding. With strength. With vision.

But He never sends us back to suffer.

What He gave Hagar was clarity. He gave her a revelation of who He was so she could walk with her head held high, knowing her child’s life was protected and purposeful.

You are not going back to beg.

You are not going back to prove.

You are not going back to shrink.

You’re moving forward — healed. Chosen. Seen. Called.

For Every Mama Who Wasn’t “Supposed” to Be

This message is for the ones who had children out of order, according to society’s standards.

The ones who never planned on doing it alone.

The ones who were left in the middle of pregnancy.

The ones who are still wiping tears between diaper changes.

The ones who wonder if God skipped them when He handed out purpose.

Let me say this slowly:

You were not skipped. You are not rejected. You are not forgotten.

You are raising a child with destiny.

You are building a legacy in real-time.

You are seen by the same God who found Hagar when no one else was looking.

Still Seen. Still Chosen. Still Called.

You may have started in pain, but you’re walking in purpose.

So let’s make this space a sanctuary for mothers like Hagar —

Mothers who didn’t follow the rulebook, but still carry the oil.

Mothers who are raising kings and queens in the desert but haven’t lost their praise.

Mothers who are worthy of love, worthy of softness, worthy of support.

You’re not a mistake.

You’re a miracle with a mandate.

And El Roi — the God who sees — has His eyes on you.