After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
(1 Samuel 1:9-11 ESV)
Despite her desperate state, Hannah kept her focus. She came to God in prayer, poured out her heart, and made a promise. In this vow we see that she truly understood the heart of God. Children belong to Him. He entrusts them to parents, but they are His. What she is willing to do is go above and beyond - to give Him up early, to limit her days with her son. She is also willing to let go on the back side of things, when her son would be able to come back and care for her. Normally this vow was for a limited time, but she gives him to God "all the days of his life." Oh that we all would be willing to do that - to entrust our children freely to God, to allow them to serve Him wherever, however, and however long He may call.
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