There was a time when I faced relentless taunting, much like Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:6-7. Peninnah, her tormentor, mocked her year after year for not having children, reducing her to tears. I, too, was called barren by people around me, and it broke me. I never called myself barren, but I was manipulated and made to think that I was the one who called myself. For months, I cried and begged God for a child, and in His faithfulness, He answered. When I thought my baby was a boy, I had planned to name him Samuel, but when I found out it was a girl, I named her Grace instead.
Even after having my daughter, the ridicule didn’t stop. The same people who called me barren before went back to calling me barren again because I hadn’t had a second child. They saw me as “incomplete,” saying I was too old and barren to have more children. Daily, I faced abuse and hurtful words, but in those moments, I chose to believe what God says about me, not what people say.
Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” I know that children come from the Lord, and they come in His perfect timing. Just like Hannah, I have cried my share of tears, but I know God’s faithfulness never fails. While I have been mocked and called barren even after having Grace, I still trust in God’s timing for my family. I hold on to the hope that my house will one day be filled, as Psalm 127:5 says, “How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!”
I share this because I have felt the pain of being ridiculed for not having children, even after receiving God’s blessing of one. But I stand firm in knowing that God’s word over my life is far more powerful than any hurtful words from others. My hope is in Him, and I trust that whatever He has planned will come to pass at His appointed time.