“I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD." 1 Sam 1:15
Hannah, unable to get pregnant, pours out her concerns to God. Assuring God in quiet prayer that she will give any child she bears to God for God's service, Eli, the priest, seeing her praying and crying, thinks she is drunk. Assuring Eli that she has had nothing to drink, she tells Eli of her unhappiness and Eli prays that God will give her what she so ardently desires.
Reading this passage, I think of dozens of women I have known who wanted to bear children, spent thousands of dollars being tested, and still were unable to conceive. Hearing their stories over the years, my heart broke for them but no assurance on my part that women did not have to bear children to be beloved of God consoled them. No doubt all who are reading this know women like Hannah.
How sensitive we need to be to those whose stories we do not know. All of bear some sorrow and the Gospel response is simple. Listen to them as God listen to us and trust that will be enough.
Today, pray for someone you know is struggling in marriage or trying to have a child.
Who taught you how to accompany those who suffer?
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