When I was having my babies, I was unaware of those women who struggled to get pregnant. No doubt they were there in the shadows, feeling alone in a world that celebrates birth.
It is slightly more spoken about now, though the sting has not gone away. For couples who long to feel a heartbeat when they go for an ultrasound, the wait
for a positive pregnancy test is painful.
Medicine has its methods, though some are intrusive, and expensive. For some it brings joy, and for others, there is isolation.
What I have learned is not to assume. First of all, it is none of my business whether someone else has a child. But more importantly, I should not pretend to know whether they want to.
There are stories in the bible of women who
wanted children. Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth all prayed to God for a chance to be a mother. John wrote a beautiful song about Hannah's feelings both before and after the birth of her son Samuel.
Hannah had no child, so she was in despair,
When she went to worship she whispered in her prayer,
"If You give a son to me then this is what I'll do,
For as long as he shall live I'll give him back to you."
Hannah had a child and she named him Samuel.
Then she said to Eli when she brought him there to dwell,
"Since the Lord has given me the child I implored
For as long as he shall live I'll lend him to the Lord."
