We were married 13 years before I was blessed to be called mom. I happen to be studying 1 Samuel while grieving a miscarriage, and well Hannah's story resonated deeply. But it was her husband's words that challenged me. "Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I remember being challenged by how easy it was to get lost in my grief of not having children and failing to appreciate what I did have in my husband, in my family, and in my life. While the grief should not be ignored, allowing it to consume us can rob us of so much joy. I found such a gift in learning to focus with gratitude on the life I already had.
While not everyone's story has a happy ending, God answered our prayers with two amazing boys.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences Joy, I don’t know if I knew this about you. You’re right, gratitude and perspective is so important in the process
God is always working on our behalf and working out our story. I see both the beauty and the pain in yours as well as God's redeeming love!
So true, and sometimes you can only see that in retrospect
We were married 13 years before I was blessed to be called mom. I happen to be studying 1 Samuel while grieving a miscarriage, and well Hannah's story resonated deeply. But it was her husband's words that challenged me. "Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”
I remember being challenged by how easy it was to get lost in my grief of not having children and failing to appreciate what I did have in my husband, in my family, and in my life. While the grief should not be ignored, allowing it to consume us can rob us of so much joy. I found such a gift in learning to focus with gratitude on the life I already had.
While not everyone's story has a happy ending, God answered our prayers with two amazing boys.
Thank you for sharing your story and your heart.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences Joy, I don’t know if I knew this about you. You’re right, gratitude and perspective is so important in the process
Thank you for sharing this perspective