When God Calls the Least Likely to Do the Extraordinary by Lisa Steven

by Rachael Adams | Nov 21, 2024 | The Love Offering Guest Blog Series

What if it’s true that God chooses the least qualified, least likely people to do the most extraordinary things?

What if you just might be one of those people?

Maybe you have a thought you can’t get out of your head or a deep care for something or someone in particular that you can’t shake. Maybe you feel like God might even be asking you to do something about it, but in your head, you’re thinking, “Yeah, but that would be crazy! I’m just …”

… a stay-at-home mom

… a college dropout

… a grocery clerk

Or maybe you have the big career everyone envies, but you can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more—but it would cost you so much.

What if God really is tapping you on the shoulder—and what if you said yes?

* * *

I watch in astonishment as Alondra, now 24 years old, crosses the stage in a graduation ceremony at Metro State University’s King Hall. This sweet teen mom looks lovely in a new pink dress, her long dark hair pulled up. She doesn’t appear to be nervous, though this momentous occasion has my own stomach doing flip-flops.

God, I can’t believe you made my dream come true.

Alondra stops center-stage and turns to watch her little boy, Aiyden, saunter across the stage with his usual confident air, seemingly unaware that all eyes are on him. Aiyden is eight years old and sporting his first suit; his hair pulled up in a man-bun after he demanded to grow his hair long. He clutches a rose in one hand and a gold pin in the other, and when he reaches his mom, she bends down so that he can attach the pin to her dress, which is the traditional ceremonial welcome for every new nurse entering the nursing profession.

Mother and son turn to the audience with irrepressible matching grins, searching for our faces in the crowd. They might be the only two in the building with no biological family members present for the ceremony. However, an entire row of Hope House staff and volunteers jump up from their seats with cheers and shout for Alondra and Aiyden.

I am smiling and crying at the same time. She has come a long way since she came to Hope House at age 17, carrying only her one-year-old son. Alondra was homeless, scared, and alone, but she’d finally found a place to belong. My heart is so full of pride and joy for this beautiful girl, who has officially broken the cycle of poverty for her son and for future generations as well.

Such a long way and so many barriers for Alondra to overcome. Such a long way for me, too, since that day when I, too, at the age of 17, was sitting outside a clinic with my boyfriend, trying to figure out what to do with the news that we were pregnant.

Nothing will ever be the same, I thought. I was right.

I was once a girl like Alondra trying desperately to escape a chaotic and difficult childhood. I, too, became a mother before becoming an adult, and it would have been easy to believe the statistics that said I would fail as a mom, that my teenage marriage wouldn’t last, and that I wouldn’t amount to much. Yet somehow, God doesn’t see things like the rest of the world. After all, He chose Mary, just a teenage girl herself, to be the mother of Jesus. Mary was probably even younger than I was when she gave birth to the Savior of the world. But she was wise, and her ready willingness to submit to God and obey His call continues to inspire me.

I know, right now, somewhere out there is a scared and lonely teen mom curled up with her baby and desperate for help. Her heart is hurting, and her mind reeling. How can I go on? What am I going to do next?

I believe God is kneeling beside that girl, whispering in her ear. Just hold on. I’m sending my people.

I also believe at that exact same moment He is standing right there next to you, whispering in your ear. I have something for you to do.

I had no way of knowing when God tapped me on the shoulder over twenty years ago and said, “I want you to build a home for teen moms,” that I would be leading a ministry that empowers over 250 teen moms annually to become self-sufficient, and to learn how much Jesus loves them. Or that this ministry would be beginning to spread across the country. Jeremiah 29:11 shares the most amazing promise, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope.”

No matter what God’s whispering to you, I promise He will bring it to fruition. All you have to do is say yes.

About the Author:

Lisa Steven began working with teen moms in 1997 through Teen MOPS. In 2003, she co-founded Hope House Colorado and has been its founder and executive director. Lisa is also a co-founder of the Colorado Teen Parent Collaborative. A former teen mom, Lisa is committed to empowering teen moms in her community and worldwide.