I see you

Little Oscar was five years old, playing hide and seek with his elementary school friends at church. Kids were running through hallways and hiding in classrooms in the children's department.

Finally, the teacher called all the children together for snacks, because game time was over. As they gathered, she and her assistant scanned the crowd of faces and found one missing: Oscar.

"Has anyone seen Oscar?" the frantic teacher asked, trying to sound calm.

Several shook their heads. One girl said, "I haven't seen him since we started hide and seek."

The teacher asked her assistant to keep an eye on the children and prepare them for snack time. Meanwhile, the teacher went on a hurried search for little Oscar.

The teacher opened door after door, calling his name. She checked in offices and even in closets.

Finally, she arrived at the end of the hallway at the last room on the floor. There, sitting in a chair with his head down and in tears, was Oscar.

"There you are," she said, relieved. "Where were you? Are you ok?"

He just shook his head. Finally, between sniffles, he said, "No one found me."

She tried to explain to him that everyone was looking for him and that he was just a good "hider," but that didn't stop the tears. As she knelt in front of him and explained all of this to him, he suddenly smiled. Over her shoulder, Oscar saw all his friends, snacks in hand, looking concerned and moving toward him together.

"Oscar," one little boy said, "We were worried about you. I'm glad you're ok."

"Yes," a little girl said, "You are really good at hiding, but we were afraid you were lost. We brought you a snack."

The teacher stepped back, and the kids all ran to Oscar and embraced him like a returning hero. And all was well.

In the Book of Genesis, an often overlooked character is a woman named Hagar. She was a servant who was pregnant with the child of her master, Abraham, who had wanted a child and was tired of waiting for his own wife, Sarah, to get pregnant.

Feeling overwhelmed, mistreated and abandoned, Hagar cries out to God, who takes care of her and her son by allowing them to flee into the wilderness and to safety.

Her description of God after he rescues her and her baby is found in Genesis. It says: "And she gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me.' For she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees and cares for me'" (Genesis 16:13).

Sometimes it helps to remember that God seeks us out, longs to care for us and that God sees us for who we are and loves us deeply.