I gave my life to Jesus September 21, 1991 and joined the C3 movement in Brisbane Australia. I got involved in the church as much as I could and began to experience a new lifestyle. I was 27 years old and single. Little did I know that I would be single for many years to come.

Sometimes, being single in a tight Christian community is really hard. I witnessed most of my friends get married, some get divorced, have kids buy a house and all the “things” that grown-ups do. There I was attending bridal showers, weddings, being bridesmaid, baby showers, Christmas parties, birthday parties and all the while I was going by myself. I often cried out to God as to why me? The loneliness I experienced was excruciating. None of my friends understood and it seemed God did not care.

In February 1997 I left Australia and moved to New York City to work for a Ministry that worked with disadvantaged kids in the inner-city. Thankfully, when I arrived there were a lot of single people. I was there for 41/2 years and during that time I witnessed a lot of them marrying, having kids etc. I thought it was never going to end. During this time, I read about Sarah and Abraham and sensed that God had a purpose for my singleness and my marriage and that I was the wait for my Isaac.

I left the ministry in October 2001 and during my last month there I had a dream about one of the guys who worked at the ministry. It was the kind of dream that suggested he and I were involved and when I woke I asked God is this Isaac or is this Ishmael. The response I got was Ishmael. How quickly things get settled when we check in with God. This does not mean that he is a bad person it simply means he is not the husband of promise for me.

After leaving the ministry I began attending C3 Manhattan. Again, I experienced so many friends getting married and having kids and all the “things” grown-ups do. It was constantly in my face that I was single. I remember one day in Brisbane a visitor to the church asked me where my husband was and I said “I’m not married” and she said why not? Of course, everything inside me wanted to scratch her eyes out. I had many well-meaning friends that suggested I try online dating and visit the single’s ministry within other church groups. I did try online dating for about three days. I felt so dirty and lacked peace about the entire process. I had no interest in running around to other churches to date. And I certainly had no interest in leaving my church as I had seen others do because of dating opportunities.

The frustration of all this advice, and the reproach and torment from the enemy was almost as excruciating as being single. One day I started responding with “My God will bring My Husband into My church” That statement became my “faith position” whether I said it out loud or to myself that was the shield / weapon I used to protect myself from taunts of the enemy. Finally, in January 2004, after much waiting and prayer my husband walked into my church some 13 years after getting saved.

What has this got to do with being barren, you ask? Plenty! That same feeling of loneliness and isolation I experienced in my season of singleness is the same feeling of loneliness and isolation I experience with barrenness. All around me are people who fall pregnant the moment they start trying. Granted my husband and I have one son whom we love immensely and I know there are plenty of couples out there who are having trouble conceiving their first child however that does not eliminate the disappointment and frustration of not being able to have another child. The enemy often torments me with the fact that we have one but not two. And our son often asks why he does not have a brother or when is my brother coming? Do you have a baby in your tummy?

We started trying for a second child when our first was about 18 months old. Every month I would have an emotional crash at the evidence that I was not pregnant. I would experience many of the symptoms that I had when I was pregnant i.e. running to the bathroom every 5 minutes, aching breasts, late periods, bloated stomach, food tasting disgusting, and thirsty all the time. Unfortunately, we have experienced a couple of early stage miscarriages and now I no longer have regular periods.

Are we hoping beyond hope? Maybe, maybe not. September 11, 2012 was the last of my regular periods and in the middle of November I was sure I was pregnant. I took another test and the result was negative. I was so mad, angry and frustrated I finally decided I would see what the bible said about this topic. I started reading about Sarah and Abraham. As you read in earlier in this chapter you see that these scriptures have helped me before so they were my go to for faith. After I finished reading this I heard God say “what I did for Sarah and Abraham I can do for Darrell and Katharine. My jaw dropped and my heart leaped. Since that day, I have had incredible peace that we will have another child naturally.

Shortly after this I started researching all the barren women in the bible to write this blog. I made so many discoveries about the similarities among the women, their husbands and the outcomes. In this journey, we will explore these discoveries, among other things, and find how God miraculously answers the prayers of those who continually seek Him.