It seems this is such a common thread throughout the scriptures - every time I read it, I wonder if I am not missing some greater lesson.
Despite advances in technology this is still a very common occurrence. It seems that with every new opportunity to work around problems with infertility, a new source of trouble presents itself making the numbers who are challenged in this area ever greater.
I have watched my friends, and sister agonise over their childlessness. Quietly cry in the back room during baby showers, hide their disappointment at yet another proclamation of pregnancy from friends, and most of all avoid any public gathering the second Sunday of May.
I have seen people go to great lengths to secure their opportunity to have a child when it doesn't come as a matter of course. IVF, artificial insemination, specialists, gurus, adoption, foster care, international babies, prayer, fasting, and blessings. Sometimes even risking major health difficulties in the process.
Hannah for her part made a vow, that if she could have just the one, she would devote him to the Lord. (Better to have a child that she would not raise than none at all.) In return for her faith she went on to have many more children, and her son became a great prophet in Israel.
I know many Hannah's, everyones longing and everyone's path to this place is a little different. But I have seen miracle upon miracle, as a wanted children are literally pulled down to earth. Maybe they are reluctant to come, or as the examples in the scriptures like Samuel, destined for greatness. Maybe it is the plan to have them very wanted, and adored. ("You is kind, you is smart, you is important").
Or maybe it is to remind us, every one of us is really a miracle. We should always cherish life it is a gift.
 |
| Hannah dedicates Samuel to the Lord |
We had the same issues. We cried and tried and looked to adoption. Finally, we DID just give it to the Lord and said it is in His hands. We didn't give up, we decided that if Heavenly Father really wanted to give us special spirits to take care of, He would.....in his own time. Now there are five special spirits and I have to remind myself EVERY day what a blessing they are
ReplyDeleteYour last statement is exactly how I feel about this. Each person is special and has a certain purpose. There are many families who are not able to have children, but there are also other situations that play a similar role. Some families are blessed with children, but not in the circumstances that they originally planned. There are many different things that can happen. Stillborns. Teen pregnancy. Children born with disabilities. These all can have the same impact as not being able to conceive. I am personally a daughter of a teen mother. My mom always wanted to children, but she never thought she would be having one while she herself was a child. Children are brought into this world under different circumstances, and each and every single one has a purpose, and special and individual meaning to each. This story reminded me how perfect each child is because Heavenly Father has a plan for our lives and is so special and just for us!
ReplyDeleteEven though I am a guy I feel that I can still comprehend the message behind this story. Just seeing the love my own mother has for me and my siblings I have come to understand how much we mean to her. It is through this love that I can understand how truly painful it is to want to have kids and not be able to. A close relative of mine did have a problem like this and it is truly tragic when they want to share their love with their own baby but cannot. However, they did put their faith in the Lord and they were able to have a baby. I truly have a testimony that if my relatives did not put their faith in the Lord then it would not have happened. I am someone who does believe that everything happens for a reason and really what if they needed an experience like that to be strengthened. Everybody has trials and our life on Earth is to show our faithfulness to the Lord and that we deeply want to return to our Heavenly Father. They are a perfect example in my life that even though everyone has unique trials they can be overcome if you just stay true to the teachings of the Church and have a testimony. As Brother Cherian is saying in this post, we can all look at our life's as it being a miracle that we are here. I very much agree with this because it is important that everyone gets a chance to receive a body and BELONG to a family. Even if you have a foster family or a single parent or live with your grandparents you are still loved and part of a family and I feel that it is important to know that. Some people share their feelings that they are not as fortunate to live in such a family as one of their friends or other kids they know but I mean would they really trade it? Their situation and how they look at life is what makes them the person that they are. This is the same case with Hannahs son who became a great prophet in Israel. Even though we are all raised and even enter into the world differently sort of speak it is how we choose to pursue righteousness, I feel that of we turn ourselves to the Lord and realize that He wants us here for a reason then we can do the great things that we are capable of doing.
ReplyDelete