“A Prayer from Sarah and Hannah and Elizabeth and…”
O God, I come to you with my barrenness,
asking for new life beyond my imagining.
I wanted to give birth, but I cannot.
I wanted to be celebrated, but I am not.
I wanted to contribute, but my body is limited.
See, I am here in your temple
to make sure that you hear me.
I will not relent until you respond,
until you reveal another use for my body,
my life.
I will come to you day after day
until you open a new door.
O God my God,
what options do I have?
Am I dead because I am barren?
See how others are making a way for themselves,
but I have no way.
Look around and see
how those who sow and plant and harvest
are valued for their gifts to the community,
but my fields lie fallow and dry.
I have no place to call my own
just this square of floor in the temple
to lay out my pleas.
God of my mother and my mother’s mother,
bless me with unexpected life, I pray.
To your glory.