"Will I really know such happiness?"

One hot summer afternoon Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent near the sacred trees of Mamre, when the Lord appeared to him.  Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby.  He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, and said, "Please come to my home where I can serve you.  I'll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, then you can rest under the tree.  Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave.  I would be honored to serve you."

"Thank you very much," they answered.  "We accept your offer."

Abraham quickly went to his tent and said to Sarah, "Hurry!  Get a large sack of flour and make some bread."  After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared.  He then served his guests some yogurt and milk together with the meat.

While they were eating, he stood near them under the trees, and they asked, "Where is your wife Sarah?"

"She is right there in the tent," Abraham answered.

One of the guests was the Lord, and he said, "I'll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son."

Sarah was behind Abraham, listening at the entrance to the tent.  Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children.  So she laughed and said to herself, "Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?"

The Lord asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh?  Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age?  I am the Lord!  There is nothing too difficult for me.  I'll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son."

Sarah was so frightened that she lied and said, "I didn't laugh."

"Yes, you did!" he answered.

                                                                                                Genesis 18:1-15

Contemporary English Version The Holy Bible (New York , NY: American Bible Society 1995)