Ishmael

If I had to give a theme to my spring break, I'd say that it was an Ishmael spring break. Now, you are probably thinking, "What? Ishmael?" I know...so let me explain.

In Genesis 16, we hear the account of Hagar and the circumstances of the birth of her son. She has fled Abraham's home and an angel has found her beside a spring in the wilderness. In verse 11, it says, "And the angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means 'God hears), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress."

I have written a few previous posts in the last few days that talk about how God did things that were unexpected. He did them all because He heard me. He heard my voice, whether it was a prayer, a wish or hope-filled expression, or a cry of distress and utter pain.

I may have written about it in a previous post, but while I was on spring break, my friend's sister was very sick. Each night before bed, I would pray for her that she would get more sleep that night than the previous night and that the next day she would have more strength than the previous day. It amazed me as I saw her get more sleep with each passing night and have more energy with each passing day. God had heard me and He answered.

On Saturday, I had made a statement that I wanted to hold a baby chick. On Sunday, I got to do just that. It wasn't even a prayer, but a hope...a desire...a longing, and He filled it. He heard me and He answered.

When I made the acknowledgment that all the memories, flashbacks, and body memories were real and that something bad did happen when I was little, it began to rain. Moments before, it had been a sunny day and we had the car windows down and sunroof open. God had heard my painful acknowledgment and He answered by letting me know He was there and that He had heard and that He shared in my pain.

He is the God who hears. I wanted to find a name for God that meant 'God who hears', but the only thing I could find was Ishmael. But, in any case, He is the God who hears me.

Before this, I questioned whether or not He heard me. It just didn't seem like He was hearing me. But now, I know that He hears me whether or not I intend for Him to or whether or not I am speaking to Him directly. Why? Because He is my God who hears me.