When U Pray

Becoming a mother at 17 was not part of *my* plan, but apparently, the Lord had different plans for my life. I still remember the shock of discovering my pregnancy—the fear of telling my then-boyfriend, the anxiety of how I would break the news to my mother and father. What would happen to me? I was living with a relative, and all I could think was: *How could I dare bring a baby into the home of the people who had so graciously accepted me?* I was terrified.  

I had no idea how to be a mother—I was still trying to figure out who I was. But God had a different plan. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on May 12, just three days after Mother’s Day.  

Motherhood forced me to grow up. It made me consider someone other than myself. It changed the way I made decisions—every choice had to be in reference to her. It was a major adjustment for both me and her father, who was also 17.  

But we made it! With God and a whole lot of prayer, we figured it out.  

Through this journey, I have learned that my life reflects many of the mothers in the Bible.  

Mary, the mother of Jesus, accepted her calling with faith. I wasn’t given a heads-up by an angel, but my response was simple: *I was willing to carry this life.* After all, the one thing the devil cannot create is life.  

 *“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”*  

 **Luke 1:38 (NIV)**  

I was also like Hagar—I felt that the Lord heard me in my despair and made a way, even when I wasn’t in covenant relationship with Him. Like Hagar, I would have preferred to run away from my own actions, but the Lord held me accountable while I sat in my wilderness experience.  

 *“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”*  

**Genesis 16:13 (NIV)**  

I also took lessons from the Shunammite woman, who learned to trust God in her most traumatic moment as a mother—when they told her that her son had died.  

*“Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, ‘Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?’ And she answered, ‘It is well.’”*  

**2 Kings 4:26 (KJV)**  

I could go on and on with examples of women who turned to the Lord in their darkest times, but I think you get the point. **Trust God!**  

Raising children doesn’t come with instructions or a map for what to do when they act up—think teenage years, think young adulthood, when your role shifts from caregiver to advisor. It’s not easy, and none of us were as prepared as we wanted to be. But we keep showing up—day after day, decision after decision—knowing we won’t always get it right.  

The one thing we can always do? **Trust the Lord!**  

*“I called to the Lord, and He heard me. He heard my cries. He lifted me out of the grave. He lifted me from that muddy place. He picked me up, put me on solid ground, and kept my feet from slipping. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see what He did and worship Him. They will put their trust in the Lord.”*  

**Psalms 40:1-3 (ERV)**