He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. Psalm 113:9
Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.” I Samuel 2:1
All my life I have loved babies and my heart’s desire was always to be a mother. But, after being married for 3 years, it became clear that we were infertile. In the early 1990’s, we were a part of a couple’s small group who were all experiencing infertility. We listened to each other, studied God’s word, prayed for, and encouraged each other. For all of us, our desire was to be parents someday.
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;” Psalm 37:3-7a.
When we attended this group, we were all “waiting patiently on the Lord”. I had many days where I echoed Hannah’s words, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. … I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. …I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief,” I Samuel 1:15b-16. Not every woman has a great desire to become a mother, but many of us do. For those of us who deal with infertility, or never marry, or have a physical inability to conceive, not being able to have children produces genuine grief and loss. In Jeff’s and my case, we both had to come to the point of surrender – giving our desire to God – trusting him to decide if and when we might have children.
All the couples in our small group became parents within the following few years. Some adopted, some conceived via in-vitro fertilization, and some were able to conceive naturally. I was blessed to become the mother of 4 children, 2 were twins. Not every woman will become a mother who may have that desire, but we can trust God with our desires. He may not fulfill them in the way or in the timing that we have in mind, but he is trustworthy, he loves us, and if your desire is to pour yourself into the lives of children, he will provide a way, and a means for you to be able to do exactly that.
By Grace Hunter
