A Story of God and All of Us - By Roma Downey Page 0,8

sleep with no other woman. He has noticed Hagar's beauty but never once imagined sleeping with her.

Sarai cannot look at her husband as she gently pushes him toward her tent.

"You need an heir," she says softly. "God has promised you a child. Now go."

Abram pulls Sarai's face to his, kisses her full on the lips, and pulls her body to his, so that she knows without a doubt that she is his true love. Then he slowly rises to his feet and walks to Hagar's tent. It is small, befitting her

lower social status, the fabric not as bright or durable as theirs. She is from a different land, of other gods. Abram does not know God's ways. Perhaps God wants Abram to unite these other nations by fathering a child whose blood is mixed and whose lineage will blend the two separate religious traditions. He pulls aside the flap to Hagar's tent and steps inside.

The beautiful, barren Sarai takes a seat by the fire. A tear slowly falls from her cheeks as she stares into the flames.

As Abram emerges from Hagar's tent Sarai can see through the open flap that Hagar is asleep. Sarai is still sitting by the fire, slowly rocking herself back and forth. Sarai's eyes meet Abram's. Hers are puffy, and tears still roll down her cheeks. Both Abram and Sarai feel something is amiss, a heavy wrong weighs upon their hearts. Despite their best intentions, they may have been hasty, not trusting God.

Abram sees his wife's tears of jealousy and regret. She is not happy to have shared her husband with another woman. If he has indeed planted a child in Hagar, Sarai will never have Abram to herself again. Every time she looks at that child she will think of this night, this raw feeling of loss beating within her breast, and know she would give anything to do this night over again.

Abram is distraught. What's done is done, he tells himself. Momentarily, he sets aside the hard truth that he has forced God's promise of a child to take place on his own timetable, rather than trust in God's plan.

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He pulls his shirt tight around his body and walks into their tent. His path takes him right by Sarai, who continues to stare into the fire.

His short time in Hagar's tent on this clear desert night will alter the world forever.

Fourteen years pass.

Ishmael, the son of Abram and Hagar, is now thirteen years old. The boy is everything a father could want from a son: compassionate, loving, funny, strong, and handsome. Sarai doesn't always share Abram's joy. Whenever she looks at Ishmael she is reminded of that night so long ago when both she and Abram showed their lack of faith, tried to force God's promise and take matters into their own hands. What has gone through Sarai's mind again and again since that night is: God can do all things. That means He can make a barren woman pregnant, no matter what her age. She has known this all along. She should have trusted God's promise. She should have waited.

Abram is now ninety-nine years old. Sarai is ninety. They now live in an oasis near a place called Mamre--amid palm, cedar, and fig trees, and clear running water--still dwelling in the tents they have called home for so many years. This is not paradise, nor is it the land Abram envisioned when he and his followers struck out on their own so many years ago. There is plenty of dissension among his people, beginning with Sarai and Hagar. Everytime Sarai sees Hagar and Ishmael she feels a searing stab of pain in her heart.

She is bitter. One hot afternoon, as Abram sits before his tent, the Lord appears to him. "I am God Almighty," he tells Abram, who falls facedown on the ground.

"I will confirm my covenant between me and you," God continues. "And I will greatly increase your numbers."

God orders that Abram change his name to "Abraham," which means "father of many nations." From now on, Sarai will be called "Sarah," for "princess."

God also orders that all males of his tribe, which some call "Hebrews," be circumcised. The circumcision is a sign of the covenant

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between God and man, and a daily physical reminder of God's presence in their lives. Even Abram, at such an old age, must now have the foreskin sliced from his penis.

And then God makes an outrageous promise to Abraham: Sarah will give birth to a son. "She will