4:30 AM Devotions to 12:51 PM Miracles
I remember starting the first day of 2024 sitting in my living room at 4:30am having bible study and devotional time. 2021-2023 had almost ate me alive and I was determined to reset my life.
Everyday there after, I was up at 4:30am, starting my day with the Lord intentionally and beginning to feel at peace.
On January 13, 2024, my life and that of our family’s was about to shift in a way that could have never imagined. Just two weeks prior, my daughter, 15 at the time, introduced us to a young man who was new to her school and our small town. His name was Jordan and she had the biggest crush on him. Janai was a cheerleader and Jordan was on the basketball team at school. They talked all the time and were getting very close.
On January 13,2024, Jordy dropped by our house to get a plate of food that I had cooked after his basketball practice on his way home. A few hours later, Janai ran into our room frantically, stating that there was an issue at Jordy’s house and she needed us to go help him. Josh immediately stepped into gear and he and Janai drove to his house was just a half mile away from us. I stayed on FaceTime waiting to see what was going on. Alot transpired over the next few hours, but from that point on, Jordy became apart of our family, a second son, to Josh and I.
We showed up for him as we would for our own kids and expanded his village, as he does have both of his parents alive as well. We took him back and forth to basketball practice, shower up at every game, helped get him on track with his school work, made sure he had proper clothing and helped him begin achieving his goals for post graduation. He was, and is, ours.
Five months after that cold, January evening, almost to the day, we would find out that our 16 year baby girl was pregnant, and Jordy was the father.
Can I be honest with ya’ll?
When I first heard the news, (you can read about that story here for all the new readers.) I felt betrayed by Jordy. I was angry with him. How could you do this after everything her father and I have done to help you. We trusted you with our daughter and you impregnate her?? Ughhh, I was sooo angry and hurt. My first instinct was to say you can’t see her anymore, don’t ever speak to us again, but what would that have done? Who would that have helped? Would it stop what had become my worst nightmare for my daughter? Nope. Nope. Nope.
So, Josh and I made the decision to support not just our daughter who was going to be a mother, but also Jordy, who would become a father. Our prayer was that they could stick together (even if they couldn’t always BE together) and raise this baby the best they could. To teach them how to shift a narrative, and break a generational cycle.
Through the entire pregnancy, Jordy was right by Janai’s side. Appointments, baby shower, sad times, happy times, all of it. They are committed to each other and their family, and Josh and I are 100% supporting them as they strive to do it.
"Life didn't end when my 16 year old became a teen mother. God took that period and made it a comma."
Fast forward to December 30,2024.
I had been uneasy all night. I was able to sleep but very lightly. I am a feeler and thats how God speaks to me. That night I was up and down and Josh kept asking if I was okay every time I got out the bed. I was fine, but I knew that something was happening, I could feel it.
At around 4:30am Janai burst into our room and I immediately jumped up, she thought her water had broke and her doula told her to head to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital shortly there after and the nurses immediately checked to see if her water had broken when simultaneously hooking her up to a monitor to check the babies heart rate. Her water had not broken but the Doctor let us know that the babies heart rate was extremely low so she wanted to admit Janai and induce her labor. In a matter of minutes she was moved to a different room, and the induction began. For the next 24 hours things were easy and quiet. The epidural was doing its thang and baby girl was talking, smiling and resting. At about 5am on December 31st things began to shift. The contractions became increasingly harder so the doctors gave her a second round of epidural. After about 30 minutes she was calm again. By this point she was at about 6cm dilated and we still had a ways to go. Jordy and my husband joined my mother in love, Janai’s doula, and myself at the hospital around 5:30am and we all closed our eyes for a few minutes. We had no clue that it was the calm before the storm…welp, actually I had a clue. Two weeks prior the Lord told me that Janai’s delivery would be hard. I tried to block it out my mind and think maybe it was just my anxiety, smh, we are leaving that kind of doubt in 2024 because what happened next was exactly what the Lord was speaking of.
At around 7am there was a shift change. The new nurse came in and requested that the doctor come and check Janai to see if she had dilated anymore. The doctor quickly confirmed that Janai was fully dilated and in active later. Within minutes the labor and delivery team came in and prepared Janai and the room to deliver.
"While it was a painful time for Janai, it was a beautiful moment in time for us as her village."
Eventually the difficult decision was made for Janai to have a c-section and at 12:51pm on the last day of 2024, baby birthed her baby.
We would find out later that during the C-section the baby was face up and her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. There was no way Janai would have been able to push that baby out vaginally.
It was a reminder to me that this baby is the manifestation of a broken generational curse. She is the reset for my lineage. Of course the enemy tried to kill her in the womb, but God. He doesn’t play about my lineage baby!
Today I went to the hospital and I washed my daughter up. As I bathed her I was filled with such peace as I got to serve my daughter in this most authentic way. Yet I fought back tears as I watched her cross over into motherhood. I pray that I gave her enough love, enough wisdom, and enough strength to be better mother than I was to her.
As I replay this last year of my life, I stand in awe of how God orchestrated every detail. I am humbled and honored that He chose Josh and I to serve His people in what sometimes feels like such an unorthodox way. While 2024 taught us lessons we never expected to learn, I'm filled with anticipation for what 2025 holds as God continues to write our story.
As I sit here reflecting on this beautiful, challenging, transformative journey, I'm reminded that God doesn't waste a single moment of our pain or our purpose. From those early morning devotionals in January to holding my grandbaby in December, every step, even the ones that felt like missteps, was divinely orchestrated.
"Sometimes our greatest blessings come wrapped in packages we never would have chosen for ourselves."
Our story isn't just about teenage pregnancy, it's about the power of unconditional love, the strength of family, and how God can use our deepest fears to birth our greatest testimony. As we step into 2025, I'm holding onto this truth: when we surrender our plans to His purpose, He writes chapters more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
Keep walking in faith, even when the path looks different than you expected. Your story isn't over, it's just getting good.
With love and gratitude,
