Mothers Day 1996 - Hannah: Three Stages in Motherhood

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.                                        1 Samuel 1:27-28 (NIV)

Intro.

Disclaimer--this isn’t a formula for maturity. Not every woman, nor every mother goes through these 3 stages. But it is a common pattern. One from which we all can learn.

Disclaimer 2 -- I am not, nor have I ever been a woman nor a mother. I am only an observer. I cannot speak out of my experience.

Mothers’ Day is a day of great joy and great pain. There are women here who know the pain of childlessness, miscarriage, still birth, who have lost a child, or have a broken or strained relationship with their child(ren). For these women Mother’s day holds a special kind of pain. Others of you have lost your mothers and though you long to send a card or make a phone call you cannot. The separation of divorce has put some of you out of touch with your mothers, others out of touch with your children. For you this is not such a happy day either. It is with great trepidation that I venture into this message today. I don’t want to increase your pain, nor the burden of this day. But I believe God has a message for mothers today and in my own imperfect way I communicate it to you.

   Hannah the mother of Samuel strikes me as a Biblical model for motherhood. Not the only one, or the best one. Yet her life gives us insight into God’s grace for three important stages in motherhood.

I. Hannah is Barren

   A.   She lives the Pain of childlessness. (1Sam.1:2-7)

      1.   The pain of childlessness is a kind of identity crisis. A woman questions her womanhood, her wholeness, her worth.

          a.    The childlessness of infertility.

          b.   Single, not by choice.

      (reach out to a childless woman today)

      2.   A different kind of pain comes with a miscarriage or a still birth.

          a.    Often this is a kind of hidden pain, unacknowledged by the church, or family or friends.

             (1)  The doctors and nurses never allowed my Mom to see the child she lost, nor even know what sex it was. She carries the pain of that loss and the child never had a name, no picture hangs on the wall, there is (or seems to be) no acknowledgement that her loss was real.

          b.   While this is not Hannah’s pain, this kind of grief is a sister to the pain of childlessness.

             (1)  In it, a woman questions her womanhood.

             (2)  In this kind of pain a woman’s grief can turn into anger toward God.

(reach out to a woman who had a miscarriage or still birth today)

   B.   Her identity is not in her Children (1Sam.1:8)

      1.   Elkanah’s statement reveals either great misunderstanding, or tremendous understanding.

          a.    Men, speak with great care to your wives and sisters about their barrenness. You (We) can never really understand what this means to a woman.

          b.   Men, remind your childless wives and sisters of your deep and unconditional love for them--and of God’s

      2.   Hannah's response, tells us her husband spoke to her in love, not in chastisement.

          a.    She heard him say that her value did not come from her ability to bare children.

             (1)  Not her inner value.

             (2)  Not her value to her husband.

(On Mothers’ Day, there are many women who feel left out, excluded, less than the women around them. Reach out to them today.)

   C.   She Gives the pain to God. (1Sam.1:9-18)

      1.   Notice that she still experiences and expresses deep pain. It doesn’t go away just because she knows Elkanah’s love for her.

      2.   She still puts the burden on God: “If you...I will...” (Not a vow of manipulation, but a solemn promise.)

II.   Hannah Nurtures the gift.

   A.   She acknowledges God as the Giver (1Sam.1:18-19) - 19-20

      1.   She did not forget that the gift of a child was not simply a biological function of her body--it was a gift of God.

      2.   She names him “God heard.”

      3.   She claims no possession. This one belongs to God.

   B.   Mothering is a Holy act (1Sam.1:20-23) - 1:21-23

      1.   There is no obligation to choose between the necessities of motherhood and the customs of religion.

      2.   Mothering is a holy act, a means of grace when the mother is devoted to serving the Lord through the raising of the children God blesses her with.

   C.   She prepares Samuel to Serve God. (see 1Sam.1:28b; 2:11b)

      1.   There is little doubt that during this period (at least 3 years), Hannah prepared Samuel for the purpose for which she had dedicated him. (look at 1:28b; 2:11b)

      2.   Her time with Samuel, those few and precious years, were spent not only on bonding, but on training, not simply on being part of the family, but on serving the Lord of the family.

III. Hannah Lets Go(d)

   A.   She Gives the boy to God (1Sam.1:24-28)

      1.   She keeps her promise to God.

      2.   This is a time of not only sacrifice but celebration!

   B.   She Leaves him in God’s hands. (1Sam.1:11)-2:11

      1.   This is hard. Hannah had to physically walk away, go home without him.

      2.   There is no hint that Hannah felt any sorrow in keeping her promise to God.

      3.   All our children are God’s and we must leave them in his care, when the period of our care is done.

   C.   She continues to Love him. (1Sam.2:18-21)

      1.   After leaving, loving doesn’t stop.

      2.   Hannah’s love is not with apron strings attached!

      3.   Hannah loves by providing the uniform of service. (a great and selfless love that seeks no recompense)

The Bottom Line:

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