My Own Rebekah

” Portrait of Young Oriental Woman” by Jean Francois Portael

Amanda sent me her story and I was so touched by it. Her perspective on life and on eternity is beautiful and I love how studying the scriptures has impacted her life is such a profound way. Here is what she wrote:

Rebekah’s story is very close to my heart.

My husband and I struggled (and continue to struggle) for years with infertility. Finally, I was blessed to become pregnant through IVF several years ago. I found out right away that I was pregnant with twins, and before we knew their genders, I was strongly impressed that I would be having a boy and a girl. My husband and I decided that we would like for our children to have Biblical names and that we would like for our children’s names to bear witness to God’s love and power in our struggle with infertility. We decided on Samuel for the boy (because of Hannah’s story, and her witness that she called him Samuel because God had given him to her). We also felt very strongly that the girl’s name should be Rebekah. I loved her story in the Bible, and I loved how her brothers blessed her that she would be “the mother of thousands of millions.” It also seemed appropriate that she gave birth to twins.

I gave birth to my children on November 2008. My son Samuel was two months premature, but he was healthy and is doing very well today. My daughter Rebekah was a stillborn. On her headstone, under her name, we quoted the scripture in Genesis, “Be thou the mother of thousands.” We have often felt that she was (is) a very special spirit and are very pleased that she was named after such a noble woman. Since that time, I have learned more about the Biblical Rebekah and every new thing I learn brings me a feeling of joy and peace. I look forward to meeting her, along with the time I will be reunited with my own daughter.

The theme of infertility that runs through the scriptures, as that has brought me great comfort in my own struggles, and I know many other women who struggle with this as well.