Hagar

Hagar was an Egyptian servant of Sarah. When Sarah could not conceive, she gave Hagar to Abraham as a wife according to the custom of the time. When Hagar became pregnant, tension arose between the two women, and Hagar fled into the wilderness. There, the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water and spoke tenderly to her. Hagar responded by naming God 'El Roi' — the God who sees me — becoming the first person in Scripture to give God a name. Years later, after Isaac was born, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. In her despair, God heard the boy's cry, opened her eyes to a well of water, and promised to make Ishmael into a great nation. Hagar's story speaks powerfully to anyone who feels unseen or forgotten.