Erin Campbell Naman, church member since 2009, member of Children’s Council, member of Lay Leadership Council

1 Samuel 1:9 – 16, 26-28 (NIV)  9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Reflection:

It was at the 12-week ultrasound with my first child when the doctor noticed something didn’t look right with the baby. For the next two weeks, as we awaited the test results, as we waited to find out if our baby would survive, there was a lot of begging and pleading with God.

Hannah also begged and pleaded with God. I can imagine her on her knees begging God for a child. I can imagine her desperation as she prayed outside the temple. I can imagine that desperation that looked to Eli the priest like drunkenness. That desperation led her to promise God that if only he would grant her a son, she would give that son to the Lord for all his days. That desperation mixed in with her faith in God, her trust in God to eventually answer her prayers.

I can imagine her elation as she found out she was pregnant. And I can imagine the joy when she delivered a healthy baby boy. What I can’t imagine, as a parent, is turning that same beloved baby over to the Temple. But Hannah did. Hannah kept her promise to God.

That baby that I prayed and cried over is now a perfectly healthy, if not moody, twelve-year-old girl. Like Hannah, God, “granted me what I asked of him,” but I did not turn her over to the temple. Unlike Hannah, I have watched my daughter take her first steps, say her first words, start kindergarten and recently enter the scary world of middle school. Hannah missed all those milestones with Samuel because she kept her promise to God.

During those two weeks of begging and pleading, I made my own promises to God. And I have tried in my own way to keep my promise. It is my greatest wish for both of my children that they know and experience the love of God. We baptized them and gave them to God in that way. I say try to keep that promise because I also know that having a relationship with God is ultimately a decision that only they can make. As much as I might want to, I can’t actually give them to God. 

But I can model for them what a relationship with God looks like. I can show them the importance of loving God and loving others. To model that relationship, I have to first have that relationship with God. That’s part of why the church community is so important to my husband and me. Through the church, my kids see the love of Christ in action. We have taught Sunday School for years. We have joined an adult Sunday School. I have attended a Mom’s Bible Study for a decade now. Don’t be mistaken, we haven’t done all those things just for our kids. We have done those things because we must have a strong relationship with God first and foremost. If I want my kids to desire a lifelong relationship with God, they need to see it in action.

I can’t guarantee these things will mean my children will always walk with God, I can’t guarantee that they won’t question him or stray from him someday. But I can continue to show them God’s love in action. I can continue to pray for them. I can continue to surround them with a loving church family. I can continue to try to honor my promise to God, to raise my children as children of God.   

Prayer:

Dear God,

Thank you Lord for the children I know. Thank you for hearing my prayers. I pray that I’m always willing and mindful that the gifts you give are to be held loosely. You have blessed me in ways that I can never return back to you. Help me to always pass these gifts on to others and be your love in action. Amen