When Justice and I received our first positive pregnancy test, it was something we had prayed for deeply. While we were excited, we were also nervous. We didn’t know exactly how to raise a child or what this new season would look like for us. There were a lot of questions and uncertainty about the future. Around that same time, we began attending New Harvest Church and Bible study together. Through our church family, we started learning more about God, prayer, repentance, faith, and what it meant to build our lives around Him. We were learning that following God wasn’t just about going to church on Sundays, but about allowing Him to shape every part of our lives and our family. As we prepared for our baby, Aria, we found Options Now. From the very beginning, they gave us comfort, guidance, prayer, parenting skills, and the support we needed during our pregnancy. They walked alongside us during a time when we were learning not only how to become parents, but also how to grow into the family God was calling us to be. What Options Now gave us was more than help during a pregnancy. It helped point us toward a different way of living. Through the support we received, along with the community we found at New Harvest Church, we began to understand the importance of being surrounded by people who encourage us, pray with us, and help us continue growing in our faith long after our time at Options Now. For us, that support encouraged us to take the next step in building a strong family through marriage and faith.Through Options Now and our church family at New Harvest, we began to understand what the abundant life God gives us really looks like. It isn’t a life without struggles or uncertainty. It is a life filled with faith, prayer, purpose, family, and the blessings that come from following God. That experience also created in me a desire to give back. I have become increasingly involved with Options Now because I want to help other women and families who may be facing the same fear, uncertainty, and need for guidance that we once faced. In April, I participated in the Making Life Disciples bootcamp, which helped equip me to better understand how the church can come alongside women and families facing unexpected pregnancies. Today, I serve as a Care Connector with the Church Engagement Team at Options Now for New Harvest Church, helping connect women and families to the support and resources that they need. It has been meaningful for me to go from being someone who once needed that support to now being someone who can help others find it. I am grateful that I can use what I have experienced and learned to come alongside other women and families who may be walking through some of the same uncertainty we once faced. If there is anything we have learned through our journey, it is that Options Now can be the beginning of something much bigger. For us, it became part of a journey that led us toward deeper faith, marriage, a growing family, and a greater desire to serve others. We are grateful for the abundant life God has blessed us with, and we hope other families can experience that same hope, support, and purpose through Options Now, their church family, and a growing relationship with the Lord!
