I grew up in a Christian family with parents and a grandmother who showed me how to love and care for others. We started going to church regularly when I was in middle school. My parents always let it be my choice of how involved in church I wanted to be, while also encouraging my personal relationship with God.

I immersed myself in church. I attended Sunday services, Wednesday night youth group, volunteer activities and mission trips. I loved God and loved putting Him first in my life.

I attended a Christian college after high school and was excited for all of the new opportunities that awaited. I knew that I wanted to experience as many different aspects of college life as I could. I played on the softball team for one season, joined a sorority, attended chapel, took theater and chorus classes, and formed many new friendships during my 4 years in college. I truly had an amazing time.

After graduating from college, I was lucky to get my first teaching job the same year I graduated. At that time, teaching jobs were difficult to secure as there was an abundance of certified teachers in my state. There was a layer of new-found freedom as I began earning money and paying my own bills. I adopted a dog, bought a condo, adopted another dog and spent my time with friends.

Onyx
Oliver

I didn’t realize it at the time l, but I began putting my desires in front of my relationship with God. I never walked away from my connection to Him, but I had moved Him from my forefront to the backseat and as the years passed, I moved Him further and further back. I still prayed, attended church occasionally, volunteered in the nursery at times, but God did not have the same priority in my life as He once had. I only sought Him out when things weren’t going well.

I remember at one point during my early 30s, I cried out to God and was angry that I did not have the “picture perfect” family I had dreamed of. In that moment He was there for me, just like every other time.

That’s when I felt Him remind me that there are many ways to form a family. This gentle tug on my heart is what started my journey in researching options for becoming a single mom.