Hagar's story, while one of sexual abuse at the hands of those with religious authority and power over her, is also a story of a woman who is able to move from her abuse towards liberation and restoration. Through Hagar we get to see not only what it might look like to be used to fulfill someone else's needs or a religious community's needs, but we also get to see how God refuses to let sexual abuse, harassment, and misconduct have the final word in any story. God takes Hagar in her pain and brokenness and exile, and tells her that who she is, is beloved and beautiful and enough and worthy to behold. God restores Hagar's personhood, reminds her she is delighted in, seeks justice for her, allows her to be the first person to name them, and gives her a future and a promise beyond what she thought possible up until that point. Hagar's story is one of courage and healing in the midst of woundedness; our ministry is honored to bear her name.
