Being asked to submit essays about my unplanned pregnancy on another blog has caused me to explore the whole saga all over again. A new perspective on the last 15 years of my journey has brought about some fresh revelation as I step into a new season of life. It feels like I'm beginning to see some of the pieces of the puzzle come together and the big picture makes a little more sense.

ICYMI: Here are Parts One and Two.

Here's the final post in this three-part series:

I delivered my daughter over winter break from college. I received my acceptance to an accelerated nursing program the day I went into labor, two weeks after my due date. Once I brought my baby home from the NICU and settled in at my mother’s house, the reality of parenting and working and going to school began to sink in. I was a mess. My mom, who gave everything she had in order to see me succeed, was responsible for keeping me together enough to pull it off. We faced a lot of struggles, but together, we focused on our faith and made it through the hormonal postpartum days and beyond.

When my daughter was 6 months old, I entered a nineteen-month clinical rotation that would earn me the right to test for a license as a Registered Nurse. During that time I worked the night shift as a technician in the hospital pharmacy. On the days I wasn’t in the hospital doing clinical rotations, I studied and catnapped while my daughter napped or played in her playpen. I could only afford to have her in daycare on the days when my mom was working and I had to attend clinicals. I would often go up to 30 hours without sleep. When I became a mother, I realized I was capable of enduring far more than I could ever have imagined for the sake of my child’s wellbeing.

I made it through those 19 months, fueled by love for my daughter and the strength of God within me. Nursing school was the most stressful time of my entire life. I was dependent on my Father for my every need, and He never failed to provide. Subsequently, that season of my life brought the greatest intimacy I’d ever experienced with Jesus. He was my partner, my best friend, my confidant, and my provider. Jesus became my everything. When I crashed into bed each night (or day), I could feel my Savior resting there with me, so close and so sweet.

In September of 2004, three months before graduating from nursing school, I sensed God nudging me to think about men again...

To read the final portion of the story on Kindred Mom, click here.

Thank you for patiently following this series. Be on the lookout for a single post version of the story that was posted on another amazing website coming soon!

As you'll read over on Kindred Mom, my story culminates with a neat and tidy, full-circle transition into my current season serving on the Board of Directors for Flourish Kenya. Please visit our website and learn more about the unplanned pregnancy epidemic in rural Kenya.

On behalf of Flourish Kenya, we would also like to invite you to attend Collected-LKN in North Carolina on November 18th. This, and every Collected workshop benefits Flourish Kenya.