A Mom's Trust in God

​1 Samuel 1:15 tells us that Hannah was a woman who knew how to pour her soul out to the Lord. She was in deep anguish because she had no children with her husband Elkanah. Her husband was a Levite from the tribe of Ephraim, which means fruitful, fertile, and productive. As a God-fearing man, yearly Elkanah went to Shiloh to sacrifice to the Lord. We see that he loved Hannah dearly though she was not able to conceive. At their visit to Shiloh, he gave his other wife and their children portions of meat for the sacrifice to God, but Hannah received a double portion of meat because of Elkanah's love for her.
 
Elkanah's other wife, named Peninnah, provoked Hannah to irritate her. This seems fitting as Peninnah's name means pearl. Pearls are formed when sand irritates an oyster. It was while Hannah was at Shiloh that she made a vow to God. "Lord Almighty, if you will 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." (1 Samuel 1:11)
 
Isn't it interesting that when Hannah made her vow to the Lord, He needed a righteous priest at Shiloh? The current priests, Eli and his sons Hophni and Phinehas, did not honor the Lord and treated the offerings brought to them by the people of Israel with contempt. (1 Samuel 2:15-17) God heard the cry of Hannah's heart and opened her womb so that she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel saying, it is because “I asked the Lord for him." (1 Samuel 1:20)
 
When Samuel was weaned, Hannah made good on her promise. She took her son to Shiloh along with a sacrifice to the Lord. Not only did she do this, but she prayed a prayer from her heart that expressed her deep gratitude to God. It begins, "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high..." (1 Samuel 2:1) Hannah's mother named her appropriately. Her name means "favor" or "grace." After declaring her prayer of gratitude, Elkanah and Hannah went home and left Samuel to "minister before the Lord under Eli the priest." (1 Samuel 2:11)
 
What is so astounding about this mother is her faith in the Lord. We can only imagine how difficult it was for Hannah to leave the care and nurture of her young son to a priest that she hardly knew. But she was one who trusted in the Lord, because she had already seen His faithfulness. This being Mother's Day, I am reminded how many mothers must give their children over to the Lord through prayer, trusting Him to care for them during a time in their lives when it seems they have gone "off the rails." Scriptures that declare the trustworthiness of the Lord are sprinkled throughout the Bible. Psalm 9:10 is one. "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 13:5 is another one. "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."
 
What any praying mother must remember is that the Lord loves her children more than she does. He watches out for them and orchestrates circumstances to draw them unto Himself. This is the first Mother's Day that I have been without a mom. However, I am thanking God for her faithfulness in bringing me and my siblings before Him. Our paths were definitely forged by the prayers of our mom. I will be forever grateful for her steadfast trust in the Lord.