“For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” —1 Samuel 27–28 ESV
Janet Parshall writes, “Hannah’s story teaches us what it means to be a true woman of God. She let go of her own plans. She knew that God was in charge, not her. She believed Him enough to say ‘yes’ even when desperation had caused her to go out of her comfort zone and ask for the unthinkable.
“Motherhood gives us feelings of fuzzy blankets and baby rattles and toys to line the crib. But motherhood is actually one of God’s refining fires. The reality of motherhood is that it’s a place to learn surrender, letting go, trusting, and believing that God is God.”
Motherhood is the spark that ignited a refining fire under Hannah. Her desire to be a mom and later her unique role as a mom ultimately led her to total dependence on the Lord.
I have a good friend who says that anything that causes us to depend on God is a blessing. This is another reason why children are a gift. They push us toward God for grace, peace, wisdom, and patience. And they work like little fires, burning out impurities in our own lives as we seek to raise godly children in dark times.
Motherhood isn’t for wimps. It isn’t easy to live out God’s blueprint for our lives or to let go of what we want for ourselves or our families. It’s really tough to lay those people and things we most love on the anvil of God to allow Him to mold and shape us. But as Hannah’s story illustrates, even when the sacrifice seems unbearable, we can trust God to work things out for our good and His glory.
Action Step: That’s why I want to be a Hannah. I want to give God permission to use my children as a refiner’s fire to burn out those parts of me that aren’t like Jesus. Will you?
A Mom’s Prayer: Lord, use my children and my role as a mom to make me more like You.
