These Fallen Wombs (Jessalyn Hutto)

In her morning devotional Free Grace and Dying Love, Susannah Spurgeon made this extraordinary statement: “tears are the inheritance of Earth’s children” (emphasis mine).

Who would dare to question the legitimacy of this claim? Who is there that has not felt the sting of sin’s consequences in one way or another. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, chose to rebel against the Creator, the repercussions of their sin were not confined to them. Rather, it affected all of creation and every human who was to come from their fallen line. Their rebellion brought devastation to the world both physically and spiritually.

We quickly see this reality spelled out after Adam and Eve sin. God judges them for their rebellion by decreeing that Eve will now bear children through pain and suffering and her relationship to her husband will be volatile rather than peaceful; Adam’s work will be difficult and unpleasant and the ground itself will be tainted and bring forth less food; death will come to their bodies, and ultimately they will return to the ground from which them came.

The Bible’s continuing narrative reveals a world far different from the paradise of Eden God originally created for man. Generation after generation is marked by evil as men seek after their own pleasure and are overcome by selfishness, anger, and hatred. The creation itself works against man as creatures, weather, and the human body seem to war against the ones who were meant to exercise dominion over all the Earth. Today we look around us and see the effects of a fallen world: earthquakes killing thousands, wars taking countless lives, and women executing the babies within their wombs.

Indeed, tears are the inheritance of all Adam’s children.

No one is exempt

Pain and sorrow are natural results of the fall. Each of us will experience suffering in one way or another, and to varying degrees. One thing is certain: no one is exempt. When the very ground we walk on is subjected to futility (Rom. 8:20) and the bodies we possess are awaiting their redemption (Rom. 8:23), we can be sure that tears are never far from our eyes.

And yet, how easily we forget this reality. Even those who are familiar with the doctrines of sin and the fall can find themselves unprepared for the tragedies that await them. In God’s goodness and loving kindness, we are allowed to experience seasons of joy and peace. Though they are never perfect, they are often lovely, and we are tempted to assume that all of life could be so wonderful. We all-to-easily forget that we are still living in a sin-infested world, walking around in sin-broken bodies. We assume the glories of Heaven should be given to us in this life, when the joys we are currently experiencing are merely windows into a world that awaits us.

The sorrow of infertility and miscarriage

An area of life so often affected by sin, and yet so often overlooked by the church is a woman’s reproductive capacity. I mentioned earlier that one horrible manifestation of sin is the desire of a woman to abort the life of a child living and growing within her. This is a result of the fallen nature of humanity; what theologians refer to as pervasive depravity. An equally horrible manifestation of sin is a result of the curse, which affects even the cells of our bodies, even the wombs that are meant to bring forth life. We see it in the natural and unexpected death of a baby within the womb of a mother who earnestly desires to carry him or her to term. It is the inability of a woman to conceive. It is the horrific experience of giving birth to a stillborn baby.

The conditions which make such tragedies as infertility, miscarriage, and stillbirth possible are a direct result of the fall. Woman, whose body was created to bring forth life, now finds that her very womb is corrupted by the curse.

After experiencing my first miscarriage six years ago, a whole new world opened up to me. Suddenly I became aware of the extraordinary amount of couples whose lives are touched by this type of loss. It is estimated that anywhere between 10-25% of recognized pregnancies will end in miscarriage and most sources seem to agree that the majority of miscarriages happen before a woman even knows she is pregnant. The CDC estimates that 6% of all married women struggle with infertility. And though more rare, 1 in every 200 babies is estimated to be stillborn. These are staggering statistics eclipsed only by the horror felt by each individual mother and father whom the numbers represent.

The ability to conceive and carry a baby to term cannot be taken for granted, for each woman’s body as well as her husband’s body and even the child she carries within her are terribly imperfect and subjected to futility as is the rest of creation.

Indeed, tears are the inheritance of all Eve’s daughters.

The amount of women within our congregations who have experienced this manifestation of the fall would probably surprise those who have been untouched by it. The sorrow of infertility and miscarriage are often kept quiet by those who are chosen to endure such pain. They are unseen trials, and largely unnoticed. The result is a church body that is largely unaware and unprepared for the possibility of this type of loss. It is true that the pain of childbirth has been multiplied through the curse, but it is also true that the curse has opened up an even greater experience of pain for women: the pain of being unable to bring forth a child at all. We must mourn with these women and their husbands, for the effect of sin—which we all experience—has touched them in a uniquely intimate way. Such women have experienced death within their very wombs.

The redemption of fallen bodies

But this particular pain does not only direct our attention to the fall of our first parents who spun the world into disarray, it also directs our attention to the Savior who redeems souls, and will one day redeem our fallen bodies.

Along with the curse was a promise: there would come One, who would make everything right again. The Holy Spirit would allow the body of a sin-infected woman to conceive a Savior, who would be born to save a people from their sins. Paul says in Romans, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” In other words, every molecule of the universe, every cell in our bodies, every baby in the womb has awaited the day when the Redeemer would come and put right all that has gone wrong. And he has come! But the promise has only partly been fulfilled.

He has liberated his people from their chains of sin and guaranteed their eternal salvation, but he has not yet eradicated sin and restored creation to its former glory. We are still awaiting the day when he will conquer sin and death completely. We are still awaiting the day when he will redeem our fallen bodies. The pain and suffering we encounter in this in-between time reminds us that there is a great and marvelous day on the horizon—a day when Christ himself will wipe away every tear that mothers and fathers have shed for their unborn children; a day when the pain and suffering brought on by such trials will be no more.

In the midst of both miscarriages I’ve experienced (one at 8 weeks and one at 17 weeks gestation), the darkness was only lifted by the knowledge that such tragedies were never meant to be a part of our world. God’s good creation was never meant to experience death, but sin has opened the door to such horrors. The promise of a coming day when our Savior, King, and God will bring death to death itself, was like a brilliant sunrise over my mourning soul. God will deal with sin completely and in that day there will be fullness of joy.

Eternal joy

Susannah Spurgeon’s words may seem depressing, but that was not at all her intent. She aimed to be real about the suffering we encounter in this fallen world, while at the same time directing our gaze to the hope of heaven. She ends this particular devotion with these words:

“Tears may, and must come; but if they gather in eyes that are constantly looking up to [God] and heaven, they will glisten with the brightness of the coming glory.”

And so, though tears may be the inheritance of all earth’s children, eternal joy is the inheritance of all God’s children. This is the hope that lies before every woman who experiences the effects of sin upon her womb. It is the hope that lies before every redeemed soul.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4 ESV).

You can find more of my writings on miscarriage here.

Jessalyn Hutto is a regular contributor to Credo Magazine. Her passion for theology led her to create the blog DesiringVirtue.com which encourages women to study, treasure, and apply the Word of God to their daily lives. She is blessed to be the wife of Richard Hutto (a Pastoral Resident with Acts29) and the mother of three little boys: Elliot, Hudson, and Owen. She is also a regular contributor to The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s women’s channel: Karis.