Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth

by Catherine Pakaluk

Hannah and Esther, chapter 13, talked about the way “your love grows,” and seeing “amazing miracles,” and big blessings that “so far outweigh” the difficulties. Danielle, chapter 14, insisted that “the dividends are there too.” Steph, chapter 15, wanted to answer the rude lady in Goofy’s Kitchen by saying, “This is where the joy is.” For Jenn, chapter 16, God had fulfilled his promise of “plans to prosper her,” and “it was just perfectly planned out, the ones that we have.” She also said, “They provide their own therapy. They love you to death too.” And Leah, chapter 18, testified that “my husband and I are really happy. We are really, really happy and fulfilled.” But Angela, chapter 17, used the language closest to what we heard most frequently. “We are most ourselves when we give ourselves away,” she said. “That’s just the paradox of the Cross. So, I do think that’s a mystery.”