There was a certain man from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. Year after year, this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 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.” As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” “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; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”( cf. 1 Sam 1: 1- 20).
Infertility is a disease of the male or female reproductive system defined as the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. It may be that one partner cannot contribute to conception, or that the woman is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term. In Hannah’s case, it is clear that she cannot contribute to conception, so the problem lies with her since her husband Elkanah had children with Peninnah. We are not told of any medical condition preventing her from conceiving and bearing children or if there was an underlining issue that was not attended to, since her husband was not perturbed by her childlessness so no medical investigation was made to help her.
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Infertility in women could be caused by a number of factors that disrupt any step of the process of fertilization and implantation in the uterus. Some of these include Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that is hormone imbalance, which affects ovulation, premature ovarian failure, damaged or blocked fallopian tubes as a result of Pelvic inflammatory disease due to chlamydia, gonorrhea or other sexually transmitted infections, endometriosis, and benign polyps or tumors (fibroids or myomas), However, many women who have fibroids or polyps do become pregnant.
The problem of infertility affects millions of people of reproductive age worldwide, approximately 10-15%, and has an unpleasant effect on families and communities. In Africa, it is almost regarded as a taboo or some form of witchcraft if a woman is unable to bear children in marriage. So many marriages have failed due to infertility, while in others, the wine of sweetness and love has been drained due to their inability to have children, so they just persevere and try to live together.
The joy the birth of a baby brings to the family is boundless and inexpressible, especially when there has been a long period of waiting and expectation. So many families and homes are in deep pain, groaning in silence as they pray and wait on God for the gift of children. Hannah in her deep anguish prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. Her bitterness was intense because she was infertile and unable to bear children in marriage. This bitterness was made worse by the constant ridicule from her rival Peninnah who kept provoking her to irritate her.
Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke (13: 6-9) told a parable of the fruitless tree that should be cut down occupying space. Again in the Gospel of Matthew (21:18-19), he cursed the fig tree which had abundant leaves but with no fruit. It is very annoying to make every effort to till the ground, plant seeds (healthy seeds of course) and then nurture the plant and when it is time to harvest, no fruit is found. This can be very frustrating and disappointing. The expectation of every person who sows is to reap fruits after planting and the one who does not sow cannot expect to reap. This principle of life is applicable in every aspect of living be it in finances, education, business, workplace, family life or marriage. Hannah fully expected to bear children too. The beginning of the year like this is a good time to begin to sow in order to reap harvest at the end of the year. The type of seeds I will sow will determine how and what my harvest will be.
There is so much joy and a great sense of fulfilment that flows from a bountiful harvest after so much work. This joy eluded Hannah for many years of marriage without a child so she said “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.” Many are deeply troubled in life because almost all their efforts and endeavors have proved fruitless; frustration and depression have set in in some cases. Many businesses both small scales large enterprises are dry and struggling to remain afloat.
The case with the Nigerian economy could be said to be a fruitless one with inflation on the increase coupled with a high velocity of poor governance, high rate of unemployment, bad roads, epileptic electricity, high cost of goods. This shows that despite the many years of democracy in our country, we are yet to reap the fruit of democracy. What has gone wrong in the process of democracy? Where did we did we go wrong? Who did what or who did not something? Is it the seeds or the ground? Is it the leaders or the citizens?
We need to identify where our problems as a people lie, seek ways to change the narratives and then go back to God in earnest prayers like Hannah did instead of drinking the wine of corruption and oppression and becoming drunk while the pains and dryness of fruitlessness remain with us leaving us with nothing to offer our future generations. To plant and water our economy to a bountiful harvest where everyone would have a share in the fruits, new jobs need to be created locally to empower the youths, our educational and health systems have to be revitalized, policies should be put in place to cater for the aged and disabled among us. If these are done then God will give the increase. In the course of time, God answered Hannah, she became pregnant and gave birth a son. In her prayer of praise in 1 Samuel 2: 1-6, she said the barren woman has borne seven children; she became fruitful. Nigeria, in the course of time, will be fruitful again.
Rev Sr Esther Mary Esawe EHJ is a Catholic Nun with the Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. She is a Medical Lab Scientist working with the Nigerian Air Force Hospital, Ikeja, in the Archdiocese of Lagos. ([email protected])
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First published on February 6, 2022