Not The Plan, But Still His Path

My husband and I have dreamed of building our forever home on a piece of land since we were dating. Through plenty of ups and downs, we’ve always found ways to keep moving toward that goal. Two years ago, we bought a house in San Antonio, planning to stay for about five years while my husband built his sales career. The idea was to work hard, save, and eventually buy land in North Texas.

At the start of each year, we sit down and make a plan based on our family and personal goals. This year’s plan was simple: stay put, keep progressing financially, and maybe take a nice family vacation. We had no plans of moving, having another baby, or making any major changes.

But God had other plans.

In March, I began feeling a strong impression that we should start trying for another baby. At first, I pushed it away, telling myself it was just baby fever because so many people around me were pregnant. My youngest had just become a toddler—I missed the baby phase, but surely that didn’t mean we were supposed to add another child right now.

Still, the impression kept coming back. I decided to go to the temple with a willing heart, ready to accept God’s will if that truly was what He was asking of me. I was afraid of what I’d feel—but I went anyway. Sure enough, the answer was clear. I felt strongly that it was time to prepare to grow our family.

To be honest, I was crushed.

This wasn’t the plan. Pregnancy is incredibly hard for me. I get sick, depressed, and unable to function—my husband ends up carrying so much at home, especially during the first trimester. And with his job, he’s only home an hour or two a day most days. I work full-time from home with our two kids, and I couldn’t fathom adding pregnancy into that chaos.

But I mustered up what faith I had and shared what I was feeling with my husband. He didn’t take it easily either. We had a hard, emotional day of trying to process what this would mean. But in the end, we both agreed: we’d try—soon—and trust that God could see what we could not.

Then something else unexpected happened.

I started feeling nudged to look at properties in Oklahoma, where my parents now live. We'd casually looked before, but nothing serious. One particular listing caught my attention and wouldn’t leave my mind. My parents went to see it, and while the land was beautiful, the house was in such bad shape it would’ve cost more to renovate than to rebuild.

Still, something inside me said to keep looking.

A few days later, my dad’s realtor called with a new listing—not even on the market yet. A 6-acre lot, completely empty, in the exact area we had always dreamed of. And miraculously, we were able to buy it.

We closed on the property this week.

It’s been overwhelming and beautiful. We’re so grateful. But we’re also facing a reality we didn’t plan for: financially, this year has been incredibly hard. My husband’s income has fluctuated due to changes in his job, and we weren’t prepared to act on our dream this soon. We hoped to sell our home, but the market would leave us thousands short. Renting it out became our only option—and it’s now been listed for over a month without success.

As someone who likes to work hard and make things happen, this in-between season has been tough. I’ve done everything I can think of to get our house rented. And now I have to just… wait. Trust. Hope.

This week was especially tight financially. I opened our bank account on the first of the month, uncertain if we even had enough to pay our tithing. In our faith, we believe in the law of tithing—offering 10% of our income back to the Lord. Normally, this is something I feel joy in doing. But lately, it’s been harder.

Still, I made the choice to pay it anyway.

As I submitted our tithing, my heart was heavy. But then, right after logging out, I happened to check my email—and there it was: a message from someone wanting to tour our rental home. I haven’t heard back yet, but in that moment, I didn’t need a final answer. I just needed the reminder that God sees me. He sees us.

Sometimes, faith is all we have left when everything feels uncertain. And yet, that’s when it becomes the most real. It’s in the quiet, hidden spaces where we choose to trust Him anyway. Where we say: this wasn’t our plan—but we’ll follow Yours.

God doesn’t always change our circumstances immediately, but He sends glimmers—tiny moments that whisper, I’m still here. Keep going.

“To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it.” — Elder Richard G. Scott “Trust in the Lord”