What Becoming Pregnant Taught Me…

It began in mid-October in 2015.  After testing positive for about 5 at-home pregnancy tests, I finally settled on the truth bomb that I was pregnant.

It has always been my dream to start a business where I encourage women to trust God with their love-life.  And so far, it’s been an amazing ride!

But once I got pregnant, everything in life as I knew it, changed.

At first,  I balled like a baby.  There was nothing in life that I wanted more than to become a mother.
Then I freaked out internally because all of my plans (to travel, to expand my business that season, to pay off ALL of my student loan debt) had to come to a screeching halt!

Was I truly ready for this?
Can I handle becoming a mom AND running my business at the same time?
I’ve seen so many other “momprenuers” do it, so it should be no sweat, right?

Let me tell you right now… my plans did NOT go as planned!
From the time I found out that I was pregnant, to the time 2016 rolled around, I was down for the count.
Growing is a human is tough!  My daily exhaustion lead me to take naps often and eating became my new daily goal.  If I could muster up the energy to eat something (noodles was my go-to meal at the time) then it was a good day.
Not to mention, I carried a load of doubt and guilt from not being able to do anything else in my day.  My mind used to flood with negative thoughts such as,

You work from home!!  How can you NOT work on your business today?!
You were trying to lose weight, now you can’t!!

The list goes on.

The more I would sink into this first-trimester stage of pregnancy, grieving over my “old life”, the more I felt unfit to become a mother.

As my pregnant season progressed, I found myself missing even more project deadlines, taking more days off than I anticipated, and pressuring myself to “catch up” to my seasonal goals, to which I failed miserably.
I felt inadequate to juggle the business, my clients, and my baby like the other business moms.

But I knew with all of my heart that this was not of God.

I knew that this was my own inner doubt and fear trying to kick in.  Me becoming my own worst enemy.  And we all experience it from time to time.  Whether in our own business, our love-life, or our personal happiness.
So after praying (hard), He encouraged me by giving me a new mindset.  The “old” Selina is no more… I am now walking into a new season.  A season where I am now a mom, a businesswoman, and a child of God.
Now that I am officially nine months pregnant, I used the rest of my pregnant season to overcome those doubts and fears, and I can say with confidence that the Devil is a lie.
There are a few things that I’ve learned throughout my pregnancy that I would like to share with you…

1. Trust in God and ALL of His ways.

Sure, while getting pregnant was NOT on my to-do list during this particular season, it was (and always was) a part of God’s perfect timing.  Turns out, this was the perfect time in our lives to start a family.  The same can be said about my business.  While things are not moving in the direction that I wanted them to on my own time, I know that in God’s time, all things will fall into place.
And let me just say that trusting in God may take some time to develop.  But the sooner you grow your trust in Him, the easier it will become to trust Him when the seasons (unexpectantly) change!

If you’re not sure whether you FULLY trust God with your love-life, then download my test, “The Love Trust Test” today!

2. My body is beautiful.

To learn about all of the ways that my very own body was able to grow, nurture, and protect this little life inside of me is amazing.  Do I still cringe whenever I see a stretch mark, varicose vein, or my undone toenails?  A bit.  But nothing can hide the truth when it comes to the beauty of a woman’s body and ALL that it is capable of doing.  I wouldn’t trade my figure, my curves, or my stretch marks in for the world!  Because at the end of the day, this body is what will bring life into the world!  A life that I created from this very body.  And no scale or diet could ever top that!

3. My business is not my pimp.

Being an entrepreneur is tough.  Not gonna lie, if your business is not a well-oiled machine, then it runs the risk of failing.  But as long as I have passion and persistence, my business is destined to succeed.  So I want you to know that I’m not giving up on my business. But over the remainder of the year, it will be going through some changes.  Just as my personal life is evolving into something different, so will the life of my business, so stay tuned for that.
Update:  Well, it’s been almost three years since I originally wrote this post and with two kids later, I can most certainly say that things have changed!  But through it all, one thing remains:  if you don’t give up, then you’ll succeed!  Check out how my business is doing here!

4. The goal was always to become a mom.  

When I began my business in September 2012, I literally started from scratch.

The goal for starting an at-home business?  To become a mother.

I always DREAMED of owning my business where I could use my God-given talents (exhortation), my God-given testimony (the ups and downs of finding true love), and have the opportunity to raise my child (more to come, God willing!) from home.  This was ALWAYS a part of the plan!  So now that it is coming to pass, I had to learn to embrace it.  Because this is ultimately what I wanted.  So now that it’s finally here, nothing but pure joy should be coming from this experience.
I’m sure that I will continue to learn many, many lessons as I venture on to experience childbirth, motherhood, and what it REALLY means to get back into my business mindset later this year.  And don’t worry, you’ll get to hear all about it firsthand.

But for now, I want to challenge you to think back to your original dreams… what dream did you once have that somehow got clouded behind life and everything else?

I want you to use my story as juice to refresh your once-desired dream.  Bring it back to the forefront of your heart.  And if your dream is currently running its course, then do NOT allow the enemy to steal your joy!  Rejoice in God’s perfect timing, and embrace the season that you’re in!  It will all work out in the end!