Before I Called You Mine

by Nicole Deese

“The way to shape a child’s heart is through love. And the way to shape a child’s mind is through literature. When you read to a child, you accomplish both.”

There is purpose in the waiting, Lauren. Don’t allow yourself to lose sight of that.”

The season of waiting that you’re in is just one example of why we need to lean into our support systems. When life feels hard, it’s imperative we reach out to our loved ones and communities and share our burdens. And in due time, those same support systems will be the people who will get to share in our blessings, too.”

My gaze traveled from the carefully carved infant snuggled on a mound of hay to the statue-still face of his mother, Mary. Her expression, etched in eternal awe, beckoned to me, as if daring me to consider the questions I’d never been brave enough to ponder in years before. But as I held her divine gaze, I wondered at the God who’d destined this young woman for such a high calling. How had her faith been strong enough to handle such a daunting task? How had she been ready for such an unconventional journey to motherhood? For all the heartache and struggle ahead of her?

My testimony can be summed up in one phrase: God’s way is rarely easy, but it’s always better than mine.”

“God doesn’t trick His children. He loves us, and everything He asks of us, or allows us to walk through, has a purpose.”

We aren’t powerful enough to mess up God’s plan. Can we deny it? Yes. Can we delay it while we chase our own way? Absolutely. But sometimes our character needs time to catch up to our calling.”

He’d asked me to trust Him, and when I had, He’d given back tenfold what He’d asked of me.

God’s best for us rarely comes without the stretching, and it’s in those stretching seasons, those periods of complete and utter dependence on God’s faithfulness, that He holds our hearts and molds them into a shape that only He can fill.