I was 23 and about to have my first baby! We had a huge decision to make and I was scared out of my mind!

We did not plan on having a baby so soon into our marriage. My ultimate plan was to get married, start my career, and then a few years down when we were financially ready…..try to start a family. BUT……..dun dun dun…….plans change!!!!! We discovered we were pregnant with our little surprise baby 4 months after our wedding and suddenly my vision of my life changed completely! I didn’t even have health insurance at the time. We were scared out of our minds to say the least.

How were we going to be parents at such a young age?! How would we provide for a little one when we were both starting out our own lives as newlyweds?? Would we be able to afford the bills? Would our marriage be okay? We were just starting out our lives together and still had so much to learn about each other. The questions and fears went on and on.

But quickly after finding out the news, our fears turned to EXCITEMENT and we were filled with so much anticipation for the new journey that we were about to begin. PARENTHOOD.

I never understood the burden of parenthood until I became a mama myself. The decisions you make effect your kids. And that is the scariest thing ever! So…..the decision came. Whether or not I should continue working or quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom. I was working as a full time nanny and I hadn’t even started my career as a teacher yet (which is what I went to school for and that we still had a lot of school debt from!) We had little savings in our bank account, and a small creepy apartment in a “not-so-great” area of town. This was not how I envisioned starting off my marriage let alone parenthood. I had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but considering our circumstances, it didn’t seem like the “smartest” decision financially. But ultimately, we decided that the best thing for our baby and for our family would be for me to stay home and raise her. We didn’t know what the future held, but we decided to take a leap of faith and trust God to provide. Going from two incomes to one was scary! I wondered if we would be able to pay our bills and school debt…or ever get to buy a house down the road….or if we would be able to provide a good life for our baby.

Photo credit: Linda Jordan Photography

SO…without telling you EVERY detail of the last few years (that would bore you to death! haha), I will just start by saying that everything turned out okay! More than okay, to be honest! Our life has been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. And I believe it all started with that leap of faith! Instead of us choosing to live in fear, we decided to put our trust fully in God to provide for us, AND HE DID. Things didn’t add up on paper when I was going to quit working, but not only were we able to pay the bills, we were able to move to a nicer apartment, pay some of our loans off, and provide for our little girl. Then, about a year ago, Seth was presented with an opportunity to start a side job that has led to even more financial blessings. We feel that God had his hand in that situation as well and opened new doors for us. We now have a beautiful home that is the perfect fit for us and more than we could have ever dreamed. I get teary eyed just thinking about it!!! And now I am living out my dreams as a stay-at-home mama with a second baby on the way. I get to pursue my passion of photography and other hobbies, all while taking care of my family! Don’t get me wrong, I still have days that I feel discouraged or have fear. Some days are harder than others and some days I get lonely being at home with a little one. But ultimately I know this is where God wants me right now in this season, and I can’t wait to see what God does with my dreams that I have given him.

I share this story with you all to encourage and inspire you to trust God to provide for your situation. Whatever it is that you are facing. Health, infertility, jobs, money, etc…..Step out in faith, in whatever way that may look like right now. God told us to lay down our fears, and in return, He showed us His goodness. Not every day since we took that leap of faith has been easy! We have had many other trials that we have had to trust Him in….And I know there will be more to come. But I know God is with us, and He will provide in every situation if we trust Him! Because He cares. He is a loving God.

All of the fears we had, seem so small now. But I know that when we were going through it, they were huge mountains to us. SO….what is the mountain you are facing? What are you trusting God for?