Overshadowed, Not Barren

Today, I am overjoyed to share with you the news that my husband and I are pregnant! This miracle, however, is so hard for me to fathom because it comes after two long and heartbreaking years of infertility. One miscarriage and thousands of tears later, I was asked to give a talk at a CCRNO Women’s Retreat this past January 2026. While I felt called to speak on our call and identity as women—that we are “Overshadowed, Not Barren”—January was a very dark and difficult month for me emotionally. I started yet another period and could not shake the sadness or the pain. It was in this place of honesty and raw vulnerability that I had to offer this talk, what I now offer to you as today’s podcast episode. In it, I share the invitation we each have—myself included—to allow the LORD to come into the graveyard of our broken dreams and to breathe new life into us. I share today’s episode both as an encouragement that the Spirit desires to break through for us and also as a testimony to the power of God to move when we least expect it. Only six days after I gave this talk, my husband and I found out that we are pregnant. It is hard to put emotions into words, but we are thrilled, humbled, grateful, and in awe. It has also been an amazing opportunity to continue surrendering as so much about the miracle of life is outside of our control as women. Please pray for us as we journey through this pregnancy, and please share this talk with any woman who might need the encouragement that she, too, is a woman full of life and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Our Father wants to breathe life into us, in more ways than just the physical struggle with fertility. And no matter whether or not a woman is able to physically conceive, she is always called to be fruitful. And the Spirit of God is here to move. For us. In us. And through us. What Women Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.What Women Are Resources:Website* Go here to sign up for updates (can be found on the Home Page), etc.!Merchandise* Access exclusive What Women Are Merchandise here! Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe