The Journey

I've never been in this place before and I'm loving every minute of it.

This next part has nothing to do with the picture and everything to do with the picture. So it's completely up to you if you want to scroll through this feed or stop and read. It's your choice. 

Throughout my entire pregnancy, I have grown so much. More than just because of the simple fact that there is a beautiful life growing inside of me.
But it's not really as simple as it seems.
I've been going through this entire season of vulnerability these past 35 weeks of being pregnant. Quite honestly, I never would have thought I would ever be in this place. I always knew I was going to be a mom one day, but I never imagined it to happen like this.
It's funny how the entire time I was at Pratt Institute (and NYC in general), from orientation to graduation, almost every person I encountered at some point told me I was being a mom/so much like their mom/going to be a great mom. People who had never known me.
But I never thought it was weird because I was never normal. You're not normal. Neither is the Father who created me and knew my life before anyone else ever knew I existed.
And I say this, not out of a place of confusion, but out of a place of complete wonder and amazement on how DISTINCTLY CREATIVE our God is. His plans are always greater than our own, and that simple fact Has never ceased to amaze me. Because it's always been more than just a simple fact. Life is more than just a simple fact. It's an incredible journey.
It's kind of funny, because I always pictured myself graduating from Pratt Institute, starting an important, design worthy career, meeting the man I was going to marry, dating him, falling in love, and having four kids and puppies. The end, it'll all work out beautifully!
But just because it didn't happen that way doesn't mean it still won't work out beautifully.
It wasn't normal that I got accepted into Pratt Institute for their Graphic Design program when I had never even heard of the Adobe Creative Suite.
It wasn't normal that my right arm went completely numb my first year and I began to draw with my left hand since my right hand stopped working.
It wasn't normal that I was chosen to be an RA for an international floor when I was born in America.
It wasn't normal that I passed all of my classes learning to use the hand that I had never used before to design.
It wasn't normal that I came back my second year after life guarding 7 days a week and could then use both hands when I barely had time to rest them.
It wasn't normal that I got an internship at House Beautiful Magazine and a page layout I designed appeared in their June 2015 issue when my work wasn't even accepted into the Pratt Show.
It wasn't normal that I got pregnant.
The journey of your life is never normal. That's because it was never was meant to be normal. There's no such thing as a normal life with normal people. We're all different from each other. If we weren't, we'd probably all be called Bob and be tomatoes.
I've learned along the way that God has so much more in store for me. Plans that I never would have thought of if I hadn't walked through the valleys.
You have to walk through the valleys in order to get to the top of any mountain. Unless you have a private jet, which, if you needed that, that's wonderful! Enjoy the flight.
You don't just magically appear at the top and skip over the hard parts. That isn't life, that's a Happy Meal.
The journey IS rough. There's bumps, bruises, hurt and disappointment but that's not all there is.
There's also hope in the hopelessness and there's vulnerability. You can sit and wallow in all the terrible things that have happened to you and give up, OR you can choose to hope for something better and follow your heart.
I've always followed my heart.
And no, that was never easy, but I always knew I was on the right path. If I hadn't gone through everything I did these past three years, I never would have had the privilege to be pregnant and carry such a beautiful, amazing life.
I mean, her life supply is THROUGH MY BELLY BUTTON. I'm still amazed by that and it's so much more amazing than lots of puppies.
I'm thankful that I've always had a choice, and that I've always chose to follow what God has in store for me, even if the plan didn't go in the direction I personally would have chosen. It's ok. God always had me and he always will have me.
So, I choose to walk through the valleys of life. Not because I know what's ahead- I don't- but because I know eventually I'll get to the top of a mountain that I probably had no idea I was climbing in the first place, and see that the path I followed has always and will always lead to Him. He always leads you home, no matter what path you take. Always follow your dreams, because you have a heart that dreamt them for a reason.