The Journey to Birthing the Promise

Some chapters are written in celebration. Others are written in waiting. Both reveal the faithfulness of God. — The Purpose Journal | Every purpose has a story.

In my last Purpose Journal entry, I shared why Aligned Purpose Agency chose to lead with the Maternal Equity Experience. I also shared that, as a woman of faith, I am standing on God's promise that I will one day bear children of my own despite my age and pre-existing health conditions.

Today, I feel led to share more of that journey.

Because this story isn't simply about waiting for a child.

It's about learning to trust God while waiting for every promise He has spoken.

Where My Faith Began

I think the best place to begin is with my upbringing.

I was that kid who was raised in church.

Some of my earliest memories are of attending Bible camp, staying in cabins, and refusing to eat the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I couldn't stand jelly.

I sang in the youth choir, and as a teenager, I gave my life to Christ during one of our choir rehearsals.

As a proud "double military brat," I thought college would finally be my opportunity to experience all the freedoms of young adulthood.

Yet somehow, even then, God kept pursuing me.

There was the time I accidentally showed up to what I thought was a college party that turned out to be a campus Christian fellowship.

Then a classmate invited me to church, and during that service I was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Looking back now...

There really was no escaping God's call on my life.

When My Plans Fell Apart

After graduating from college, I thought I had my life mapped out.

During my junior year, I secured an internship with Nortel Networks and fully expected to transition into a full-time position after graduation.

Instead, the technology industry experienced a downturn.

I was laid off before I even graduated.

Suddenly, I found myself moving back home with my parents.

I had a college degree.

Student loan payments were approaching.

And I couldn't find a job in the field I had spent years preparing for.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

It felt like everything I had been told would lead to the "American Dream" had fallen apart.

A New Beginning

During that season, my mother insisted that I go to church with her one Sunday morning.

Reluctantly, I agreed.

It happened to be Youth Sunday, and the guest speaker spoke directly to the disappointment, confusion, and hopelessness I had been carrying.

That morning changed my life.

I rededicated my life to Christ and began a journey of discovering my purpose.

I immersed myself in prayer.

I studied God's Word.

I served faithfully in my church.

I surrounded myself with believers whose passion for God challenged me to grow.

The miracles, signs, and answered prayers I witnessed during that season became the foundation of the faith I still stand on today.

A Promise for Someone Else

There is one moment from that season that I think about often.

A woman in my church had openly shared that she and her husband had been trying to have children for years without success.

After one choir rehearsal, I felt an unmistakable prompting from the Holy Spirit.

I was supposed to tell her she would conceive a child.

To be honest, I wrestled with it.

I never wanted to give someone false hope.

But I knew I had heard God.

So I obeyed.

A few months later...

She came back to me with joyful news.

She was pregnant.

Not long afterward, I had a similar experience with one of my coworkers.

Again, I shared what I believed the Lord had spoken.

Again...

Within months...

The promise came to pass.

Watching God fulfill His promises in the lives of others strengthened my faith.

Little did I know that one day, I would find myself waiting on a promise of my own.

When You're the One Waiting

You may be wondering...

How do you continue believing God when you've watched Him answer prayers for everyone else while your own prayer seems to remain unanswered?

That's where this journey becomes deeply personal.

In my twenties, I dreamed about marriage.

I dreamed about children.

I dreamed about climbing the corporate ladder, earning the corner office, and building what I thought success looked like.

Whenever friends celebrated engagements, weddings, promotions, or babies, I celebrated right alongside them.

I genuinely believed my turn would come.

When I entered my thirties...

I still celebrated.

But if I'm honest...

Fear slowly began replacing confidence.

Then came my forties.

Somewhere along the way, hope deferred settled into my heart.

And if I'm being completely transparent...

There were moments when I found myself angry with God.

Maybe you've been there too.

Maybe your promise doesn't look like mine.

Maybe you're waiting for healing.

Or restoration.

Or a spouse.

Or a child.

Or direction.

Whatever your promise may be...

Waiting has a way of exposing what's really in our hearts.

Faith in the Waiting

As I reflect on this journey, Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) continues to anchor my heart:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

I've returned to that Scripture countless times.

Not because my faith has always been strong.

But because there were seasons when I desperately needed it to become strong again.

Waiting has taught me that faith isn't pretending everything is easy.

Faith is choosing to trust God even when the timeline no longer makes sense.

What the Waiting Has Taught Me

Looking back, I can see lessons I couldn't see while I was living through them.

I've learned that waiting is often less about whether you're worthy of the promise and more about whether you're prepared for it.

I've learned that God's timing is rarely our timing.

He's not rushing to meet our deadlines.

He's aligning His promises with His perfect purpose.

I've learned that while I was busy trying to climb the corporate ladder, God was preparing me to build something much greater than a corner office.

He was building Aligned Purpose Agency.

I've also realized that some of the relationships I desperately wanted years ago would have pulled me away from the purpose God was preparing me to fulfill.

Today, I trust that the husband God has for me will walk beside me as we pursue His purpose together and build a lasting legacy.

That kind of partnership is worth waiting for.

Finally, I've come to understand something that has brought tremendous peace to my heart.

Just as Hannah gave birth to Samuel at a certain time in history to fulfill his purpose in the earth...

Just as Elizabeth gave birth to John at the appointed time...

I must trust that God knows the appointed time for every promise He has spoken over my life.

His timing is never random.

It's intentional.

If You're Waiting Too...

Waiting on God is one of the hardest things we will ever do.

Especially when the waiting lasts longer than we ever imagined.

But I've discovered something beautiful.

God is never absent in the waiting.

He's working.

He's preparing.

He's strengthening.

He's shaping us into the people we'll need to become when the promise finally arrives.

One day, I believe we'll look back and understand why the waiting mattered.

One day, we'll laugh the way Sarah laughed when she held Isaac in her arms—not because the waiting was easy, but because God's faithfulness proved greater than the years it took to arrive there.

Until then...

Keep trusting.

Keep believing.

Keep drawing near to Him.

Because every promise God has spoken carries with it an appointed time.

And when that time comes, you'll discover that not one moment of waiting was wasted.

A Reflection for You 

Is there an area of your life where you've been tempted to give up because the waiting has been longer than you expected?

This week, spend a few quiet moments asking God about not only what you're waiting for, but who He's shaping you to become while you wait.

Sometimes the greatest miracle isn't simply receiving the promise.

It's becoming the person God intended you to be before the promise arrived.