OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An excerpt from former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s forthcoming book reveals what she called the darkest moment of her life.
The excerpt, which was published by the Daily Mail, comes from the new book, “Serenity in the Storm: Living Through Chaos by Leaning on Christ,” which goes on sale May 2. McEnany discusses the difficulty and struggles she experienced while trying to become pregnant with her second child, Nash, who came into the world in November.
That comes in contrast to when she became pregnant with now three-year-old Blake, which occurred “rather quickly” with her husband Sean Gilmartin. The couple decided to expand their family in the summer of 2021, but it did not come easily, the Fox News host revealed.
“Several months passed, and negative pregnancy tests were ample. As spring of 2022 approached, part of me began to worry. Why wasn’t I getting pregnant? I attempted to overcome worry by leaning on faith,” she wrote.
.@DailyMail published an early excerpt from my book about my second pregnancy, which didn't come as easy as my first. It was a great learning lesson and faith journey for us.
As I wrote, "'For millions of women, struggles with pregnancy occur for far longer than a few months,…
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) April 20, 2023
But then a friend gave her a copy of Mark Batterson’s “Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge,” and she decided to practice what the book preached.
“As I tried to pray with expectation, Satan did his best to infiltrate with worry, doubt, and frustration,” McEnany wrote.
McEnany said that she was “overcome with worry” about her ability to conceive when she traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma in March 2022 to speak at the Extraordinary Women Conference.
Meanwhile, adding to her concerns was the fact that many of her friends were announcing that they had become pregnant.
While attending the Tulsa conference, McEnany found solace in the music and other aspects of the program, which helped her recenter her focus on God and ease some of her grief, she said. Shortly thereafter, she confided in Kathy Sparks Lesnoff, the CEO of the pro-life organization Mosaic Pregnancy and Health Centers, about her struggles.
“[W]ithout hesitation, Kathy asked if she could pray over me. I agreed, and right there at our dinner table, Kathy and I bowed our heads while she said a heartfelt prayer for God to bless me with a child,” McEnany said.
Upon returning home, McEnany and her husband prayed together for a child. She later discovered that her father-in-law’s Bible study group was also praying for the same intention.
Three days later, she took a home pregnancy test — and then another to be sure — and both showed she had become pregnant.
McEnany noted on Twitter: “For millions of women, struggles with pregnancy occur for far longer than a few months, and for some, pregnancy is simply not possible, even though they pray with hopeful expectation and faith, as Sean and I did. ‘My heart breaks for these women, and I imagine the struggle can be incomprehensible. Why did God answer my prayers? I do not have an answer, for we will never know God’s mysteries in full while here on earth.’ But I do know that Philippians 4:6-7 promises that God will bring peace to the faithful even when our prayers are not answered: ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'”
She announced the release of her book last month in a video taken on a beach with her husband and a friend.
“I talk about the chaos we live in and how Christ is at work even amid the chaos. … I take us through the fall of Afghanistan, but then I talk about how the underground church is on the rise, and it’s growing, and it’s prospering,” she said in a video shared on Twitter, where she also said she spoke about why God allows “pain and suffering.”
She also said that she looked at academics who started as skeptics but came around to the truth, that Jesus Christ is the savior of mankind.
“They all started out as skeptics. … Some [set out] to disprove Christ and in doing so they came to the realization that Jesus Christ is the savior,” she said.
