Discover how one woman’s unexpected journey into unconventional motherhood transformed her heart, deepened her faith, and revealed God’s greater purpose through caring for children in need.

By Rebekah Callen

I never wanted to be a mother—at least that’s what I thought. I grew up in a traditional home and in a traditional Christian church. I had a great mom who did my laundry, packed my lunch, and prayed over me daily. She never complained about being a mom and all the small sacrifices it entailed. I remember watching her in the kitchen and wondering, “How could she not want more for her life?” The idea of growing up and becoming a mother seemed like I was giving up my chance for adventure and fun, so I decided it wasn’t for me.

I met the man who would be my husband at a young age, and he is the one that started to turn my heart toward the idea of being a mother. I knew he would be a great father and deserved to have that opportunity. While we were dating, I served faithfully in church with the children’s ministry, VBS, and in the nursery. I really enjoyed it, and it was a place I felt gifted in serving. I thought the Lord would use me in ministry with children to make a bigger impact than just being a mom.

Now, as an untraditional mother of eight boys ranging from the ages of 10 to 17—some biological, some not—I realize how ignorant that sounds.

The Start of the Road

Soon after my husband and I first got married, we agreed to wait about five years before we started having children. I thought this would give me time to follow my dreams, to chase after my career, and to have some adventures with my new husband. Of course, God had other plans. I got pregnant with our first son toward the end of our first year of marriage.

It is during this season that God began a change in my heart from only helping kids at church toward a love and compassion for kids in desperate need. I became the preschool minister of our church and loved writing the curriculum and teaching young kids about Jesus.

After a few years, I became pregnant with our second son and felt called to do even more with kids. I had always loved school, so I felt a natural urge to maybe go into teaching. I got my teaching certificate and quickly began teaching elementary kids. I threw my whole life into my job. I felt so natural as a teacher and really thought I was going to teach the rest of my life.

During that time, several children were taken out of my classroom by child protective services due to their home life. This began an aching in my heart. These kids had been in my classroom, and I hadn’t known they were in so much pain. I began to see that the people they needed most, their parents, were failing them. The position that I thought was so trivial was their biggest need. I began to realize that my role at home was so much more than I ever understood.

A New Direction

My husband and I began praying about being foster parents and adopting, because of what I had witnessed while teaching. But in every avenue we pursued, there seemed to be roadblocks.

Around the same time, we had friends who were packing up their home and leaving the state to become house parents. We had no idea what a house parent was, so we invited them over, before they left, to hear about their calling to this type of ministry. We began a period of praying and searching if this was for us. The more excuses I found for why houseparentlng wasn’t for us, the more God would not leave our hearts alone about it.

My husband came across a children’s home in Alabama on the internet and couldn’t quit talking about it. I began researching it and it immediately had my heart. The boys in this home came from all sorts of tough situations, many of which were the same for which my students had been ripped out of my classroom. We began the application and interview process.

Six months later, we were packing up everything we owned and selling our home as the school year ended. God allowed everything that had to happen come so quickly that it gave our hearts even more confirmation about our calling. Our house even sold before we could put it on the market.

Fulfillment in Parenthood

We’ve been houseparents for almost three years now, and we currently have eight boys in our home. My daily routine now involves doing laundry, making an insane amount of food, and dealing with a lot of chaos. I have also never felt more fulfilled in my whole life. What I ran from and thought of as less than became the vehicle I get to use to show children Jesus.

Our God is also so loving and merciful—He showed me that what I thought would stifle my spirit has given me more adventure than I could imagine. My days are also filled with hiking, jokes, kayaking, and “Hey Mom, watch this” moments. I couldn’t have been more wrong about motherhood.

More than anything, it has shifted my perspective to how our Father feels about us, His children. I truly believe the closest we can get to understanding how God feels about us, is how we feel about our children. How their hurts crush us and their small wins fill us with pride. How we would do anything for them and yet we feel like they will never know the depth of our love for them. Motherhood has been the biggest tool of sanctification that God uses to help me surrender and draw me closer to Him.

I am so thankful that the Lord allowed me the privilege of motherhood to many who didn’t know what family was supposed to look like. I will never see myself as just a mom.

For Further Study

Read:

Psalm 127:3. Consider how God views children as a gift, even when motherhood looks different than expected.

Isaiah 55:8–9. Reflect on how God’s plans can reshape our own in ways we never imagined.

Reflect:

Have you ever resisted a calling because it didn’t match your expectations for your life? What held you back?

In what ways might God be inviting you to see your current role, whether in motherhood or elsewhere, as meaningful and full of purpose?

Pray:

Lord,

Thank You for the ways You lovingly guide my life, even when Your plans look different from my own. Help me to trust You when You lead me into unexpected places. Give me a heart that is open to Your calling and willing to serve where You place me. Grow my compassion, deepen my love, and help me reflect Your heart to those around me. Amen.