Let Jesus Guide Your Life

Before becoming pregnant, I knew that raising a baby would be a lot of work. To be honest that (along with the whole birthing process) deterred me from ever wanting kids. Besides, my husband and I believed that we were unable to have children, so we embraced our child-free life together. In my child-free life, I had so many plans. I was a grad student working on my degree in mental health and I was going to help others in the non-profit sector. The Lord, however, had different plans.

I found out that I was pregnant in 2021, the same year that my husband and I became Christians, which is no coincidence. We were thrilled to say the least. Knowing that this was God's doing, I embraced our unborn child with open arms. In fact, our song is Creed's "With Arms Wide Open." I know, cliche, but that's exactly how I felt when I first learned about our little blessing.

There's no rule book around to tell us about how to be a perfect parent. I mean, that would be too easy, right? While I was pregnant, I had no idea how we should prepare for our little one. What I did know was that Jesus gave us this precious gift, and so I decided to trust in Him to help guide me. But what about my dreams of being a therapist and helping others? I had no clue. I just prayed for Him to give me the strength to get through graduation, which was no easy task. Between working, grad school, my clinical, raising a new baby, and continuing to have a healthy marriage, it all seemed impossible. But you know what I learned throughout the entire process? Nothing is impossible with God -Luke 1:37.

After graduating, I had a decision to make about my dreams of a career. After much prayer, I knew what I had to do. My main job was to ensure that our little one grew up with Christian values and knowing about God. After all, she would not exist without Him. She just turned a year old, and I can say that the sacrifice has been worth it. This was my path and my calling. While this is my path, Jesus might be leading you into a different one. No matter which path is taken, it is important to base it on His will, not our own.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11