We all had an idea or picture of where we would be at our current age. Twenty years ago, I thought that being 30 meant you were ancient. I pictured myself jet-setting around the world, working in some foreign country as a top-notch business woman, or maybe married...and jet-setting around the world. As you move forward in time and spiritually mature, you realize that our plan may not be at all what God planned for us.

I never planned to have children. I thought that being a parent was a HUGE responsibility. You are entrusted with the life and well-being of another human being. Their life and survival is dependent on YOU. And then I was blessed with my son Tyler. His unexpected arrival did something for me that only a child could do. He forced me to slow down (I was a workaholic prior to becoming pregnant) and reconsider my life's priorities. I just started my M.B.A. program when I found out that Mr. Ty was on the way.  I had BIG plans...the M.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting...later my C.P.A....possibly a doctorate to follow. I was the the senior financial officer for a municipality at the time and it seemed like everything that I aspired to do and be was directly in front of me.

I realize now, 3 years after I found out I was to be a mother, that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:27-29). In layman's terms...I can see how the Lord used the birth of my son to refocus my life. For the first time, it was no longer about me or my desires. It was about the needs of another person. And that is where the Lord wanted me to be. He wanted to reposition my heart to have a deep love and care for others. He knew the purpose that I am to serve while here on Earth and the steps I need to take to fulfill that purpose.

So as I work to provide and care for my son, during the rough days when I get discouraged, when I feel inadequate and unloved, when everything seems to fall apart, I trust and believe that those moments also "work together for good." So despite the doctor's prognosis or the lack of support, I know that my laboring is not in vain and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. It's never about my plan, but the plan that God has for me.