Treasures of Darkness

At Rachel Barkley's 16-week pregnancy checkup, her doctor found the baby had no heartbeat.

Then came the news: Aaron Shepherd Barkley, her third child, had died two weeks before. When she delivered the boy, the features she saw in that blanket the nurse gave her left her astounded.

"He had eyelids, ears, fingers, and toes," says Barkley, worship pastor at Glad Tidings of Austin (GTAustin), an Assemblies of God congregation in Texas' capital city. "He was a beautiful boy."

Though Aaron was born at 14 weeks' gestation, he looked like a baby. And babies at Aaron's stage of development are routinely aborted.

That's the heart that gave life to "Treasures of Darkness," a collection of 11 songs that Barkley, 31, wrote while grieving Aaron's death. She says the songs are for anyone dealing with loss, but with special thoughts toward women contemplating aborting their babies - many at least as developed as Aaron.

Last December, Barkley presented the prolife charity Austin LifeCare with a check for $38,000 in proceeds from the album, concerts, and fundraisers. That amount will be matched by another charitable organization to purchase a four-dimensional sonogram machine. GTAustin partners with Austin LifeCare, which promotes solutions to challenges surrounding unplanned pregnancies through prevention, practical assistance, and restorative healing. The 4D sonogram machine will allow moms-to-be to see their babies in vivid reality in a center operated by Austin LifeCare.

"I'd always been pro-life," Barkley says, "but after seeing my lifeless child with my own eyes and knowing that babies like Aaron are being killed, I knew what I held in my hand was a human life. If women only knew what their choices were doing."

And she prayed: If there's anything I can do to let women see.

Months later, Barkley says she prayed outside an abortion facility and the Holy Spirit answered with a revelation that she should release an album to raise money to buy a sonogram machine.

Obstacles flooded her mind, primarily dealing with the paucity of funds to make an album. Indeed, she and her husband, Jimmy, also a musician, were saddled with hospital bills, first from Aaron's birth and later from her miscarriage of another baby, whom they named Esther.

"I listed all the hindrances, but I felt it was God's plan," Barkley says. "I'd do my part to say yes to life."

To that end, she co-wrote a rousing prolife anthem titled "Say Yes" with GT musician Amanda Russo.

The title of her album came from Isaiah 45:3, which begins, "I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places."

"In these dark places in our lives, God wants to reveal an aspect of Him you didn't know, if you can just hang on," Barkley says. "The verse is revealing the treasure of darkness in a woman's womb."

"Everybody has dark times," says Kermit Bell, senior pastor of GTAustin. "It's how we react to those dark times that determines whether it's treasure or trash in our lives. Music is a powerful medium that touches the heart. The album brought hope."

So all proceeds could go toward the sonogram machine, Barkley raised funds for the album's production. She's dedicated the proceeds to Austin LifeCare in perpetuity.

Treasures of Darkness is available in CD on rachelbarkley.com and on iTunes.

Deann Alford

Deann Alford is a journalist and author. She attends Glad Tidings of Austin, an Assemblies of God congregation in the Texas capital.