I Planned My Life; God Said “Cute”

What if the collapse you fear is the rescue you need? We open with Mary’s startled question and quiet surrender, then walk through Mariana’s unvarnished story of betrayal, divorce, single motherhood, and the unexpected ways God rewrote a life she tried to script. The thread that ties it all together is the holy interruption—those moments that don’t fit your timeline but somehow usher in protection, provision, and purpose.

You’ll hear the gritty details: a “perfect” marriage hiding manipulation, the second-floor treks with kids and groceries, the sting of a photo that won’t stop talking, and the slow rebuild that came through Scripture, school, and steady work. Then another turn—an unexpected relationship that blossomed after surrender, followed years later by a crushing discovery: fresh betrayal two weeks after a positive pregnancy test. In the middle of anger and fear came a loving no that redirected the future. What followed was repentance, forgiveness, and surprising provision—an unexpected check that opened the door to a first home. Twelve years later, father and child stepped into the same water to be baptized. Chaos became covering. Betrayal became rebuilding. Interruption became inheritance.

We talk about how to live this out day to day: trading clenched fists for open hands, trusting God’s timing when the plan dissolves, and recognizing that rescue rarely looks like we imagined. If you’re navigating a layoff, a breakup, a delayed dream, or a pregnancy in the midst of pain, this conversation offers both honesty and hope, grounded in faith and lived experience. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help more women find these stories of redemption. What plan are you ready to release?

Chapters

• 0:00 What Is A Holy Interruption
• 0:54 Show Welcome And Mission
• 4:21 Mary’s Confusion And Surrender
• 5:25 The Marriage That Shattered Identity
• 8:18 Single Motherhood And Meeting God
• 10:18 A New Marriage And Fresh Betrayal
• 12:10 The Loving No And Turnaround
• 13:41 Open Hands Versus Clenched Fists
• 16:52 A Prayer Of Surrender
• 18:01 Encouragement And Community Wrap

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Amiga, what do you do when the life you carefully planned suddenly falls apart? When the marriage you thought would last forever ends? When betrayal blindsides you? When a pregnancy arrives in the middle of chaos, or when God interrupts your plans in ways you never expected. In today's episode, we're talking about holy interruptions, the painful, confusing moments that feel like destruction, but turn out to be God's rescue. I'm sharing parts of my story I don't often tell about loss, surrender, and redemption, and how God used interruptions to rewrite my life. If you've ever questioned God's timing or felt like your life was unraveling, this episode is for you. Welcome to the Mamiana Mission Podcast, where when life be life and amiga, we call on Jesus. I'm your host, Mariana, certified biblical life coach, author, and your purpose-driven amiga, here to remind you that you don't have to walk through life with anything. Here we talk feeling, identity, confidence, purpose, and those real life moments nobody wants to miss their going through. But you know we all are. So grab your cafecito, settle in, and let's dive into the conversations that help you grow, breathe, and align your life with the woman God created you to be. She's being obedient, as if she wasn't panicked or I don't want to say disturbed because disturb is not the correct word, but maybe doubting. Because she didn't respond with celebration. In fact, she responded with confusion by asking, how can this be? And I mean that's usually our response too. Because when God interrupts our plans, we think this doesn't make any sense at all. Or this does not fit my timeline right now. Or maybe you've said, This isn't what I planned. But the angel says to Mary, for with God nothing will be impossible. And Mary responds with surrender. May it be unto me according to your word. And that one sentence changed history. So, amiga, before I tell you about the interruption that eventually restored my family, I need to take you back to an earlier one because this wasn't the first time God interrupted my plans. So this was in my second marriage, and I truly believed it was the one I would be in forever. I thought I was in the perfect marriage. I mean, he was charming, he loved to dance, he joked with me, he complimented me, and it felt very natural to be with him. Like this must be the plan. But what I didn't see, what I wasn't expecting, was what he was hiding. Cheater, lie after lie, stealing, manipulating, abusing. And Amiga, that season shattered me. Not just my marriage, but my confidence, my trust, and my sense of self. The marriage I thought would last forever ended. And I remember feeling like everything I believed about love, stability, and my future completely collapsed. I remember going into, so we had already been separated for quite some time, and I ended up getting this one-bedroom apartment. And I still had pictures of us because it was still hard. And I remember walking into the apartment one day, I was already agitated. You know, I had the two babies, it was cold. I had just come off of work. I had to go to the grocery store, pick them up, come home, put the groceries up, put the kids up. I mean, and and by yourself, by yourself. And I know that if you're a single mom out there, you understand because it's like you can't leave the kids in the car. So you pretty much have to have the kids and the groceries in your hand to put them in. Because if not, then somebody's gonna call the cops on you for leaving your kid in the car or leaving your kid alone in the apartment while you're getting the groceries. And me, it was even harder because I was on the second floor. So I was very much in a mood so that I remember looking at this picture of he and I. I think I was, I believe I was pregnant with my my daughter, my third child. And I just looked and I said, How dare you? Like, how dare you leave me in this situation? Like you were never there to help me. But here's the part I couldn't see at the time of God's interruption. It was in that painful, chaotic interruption in the heartbreak, the confusion, the loss, that I discovered the Lord in a way I never had before. I didn't come to God polished. I didn't come with answers. I came broken, desperate, and searching for something solid to stand on. And what felt like destruction was actually God rescuing me, rescuing me from what I thought was love, rescuing me from what I thought was safety, rescuing me from a future that would have continued to harm me. And this is why I say, I'm yeah, sometimes God interrupts a marriage not to punish you, but to protect you. Sometimes he allows what feels like loss because he sees what staying would cost you. That interruption didn't feel holy in the moment. It felt devastating. Maybe I'm talking to you right now. Maybe this is something that you're feeling right now. So after we separated, I picked up the pieces of my life and just tried to move forward. I poured myself into the word, honestly thinking to myself, I will never marry again. Because who's going to want a woman like me? These were my thoughts. A woman with child with three children, broke, twice divorced, a stack of bills, and the possibility of even going to jail. So I focused on living life for my kids. I went back to school so I could get a better paying job. I faced the consequences of my actions and did the hard work of making things right. And I slowly settled into the idea that I would be a single mother. And yet, that interruption was the beginning of God rebuilding my life from the inside out. And just when I thought this was it, just when I thought my story had reached its final chapter, once again, God interrupted. And the man who would become my husband, the man I would go on to have two more children with, unexpectedly showed up in my life. And that interruption prepared my heart for the next one, the one that would test my faith in a completely different way and ultimately lead to redemption I never could have planned on my own. So here we are in my second marriage. We were four years into our marriage, and just two weeks after learning I was pregnant with our second child, my fifth overall, everything came crashing down again. I discovered that my husband had been hiding something from me. And the timing was unbearable. The betrayal was devastating, and I felt completely undone. And I need to be honest with you, in that moment, I didn't see the pregnancy as a blessing. I wanted it to end. At least that was my thought. I was overwhelmed, angry, hurt, afraid. But in that broken place, God spoke to me and He said no. Not a no with condemnation, not a no that sounded harsh, but a no that was said to me with love and authority. And that no wasn't just about a pregnancy, it was about a future I couldn't yet see. So two months later, God moved. My husband gave his life to the Lord. He repented and he asked for forgiveness. And not long after that, we received an unexpected check, provision that we'd never planned for. That check helped us buy our first home together. And what felt like chaos became covering. What felt like betrayal became rebuilding. What felt like interruption became inheritance. And here's the part that still leaves me in awe. That baby and my husband, 12 years later, were baptized together. Same water, same God, same redemption story. And only God can do that. So let me ask you have you ever thought you had the perfect plan for your life? And then suddenly, bam, it got interrupted. Maybe you had the perfect job. Maybe you had the perfect relationship. Maybe you had the perfect home. Maybe you had the perfect dream. And in the moment, all you felt was confusion and chaos. But later, God surprised you. Or whenever, you know, I have my career situated, then I'll get married. Or maybe, you know, when all the bills and my credit and all this kind of stuff is done, and I have, you know, and just enough money, then I'll buy that house. Or maybe it's okay, whenever I take some time, then I'll go on that vacation. It's always later. Right? At least that's in our mind. In our mind, we think, okay, I have this plan. And then God interrupts that plan and does something completely different. Maybe you had the best job, and then one day you wake up and it's like you have you don't have that job anymore. Either you got laid off or you were terminated, or whatever the case may be. And now you're uprooted from that position, a position that you probably love, that you had been in, that you had poured yourself into, but then God picks you up and says, okay, no more, and it's ending. And then you're left like, wait, what? Like I was counting on retirement, retiring with this job. Like I had all these things planned out, and God said, No, wait, I've got something else for you. And you're like, wait, this this doesn't fit. Right. So God isn't looking for that perfect timing. He's looking for open hands. Why? Because clenched fists say, This is my plan. Whereas open hands say, Lord, you can have it all. I don't know about you, but nine times out of ten, I've walked around with my clenched fists. Like this is how it's gonna be, because I'm I'm one of those women that I'm saying, God's still working on me with this. But you know, I'm that woman that I always had to be in control of things. Like I have to control, and right now I'm in a season right now that once again God is working on me of opening up my hands and saying, okay, Lord, here you go. You can have this. Because the thing is, is I'm doing everything according to the way I think it should go. And the truth of the matter is things aren't aligning, are not lining up to the way I thought they should, right? So now I've got to trust that whatever is happening, that God is already taking care of it. Matter of fact, I know he's already taking care of it. Why? Because God has already orchestrated all of my steps. So he knows in which direction I'm going. He knows already what my stumbling blocks are gonna be. He knows already the things that I'm gonna be wrestling with, just like he knows the things that you're gonna be wrestling with too. He knows that perhaps you were, you know, you were seeing your life a certain kind of way, and now all of a sudden you're waking up and you're just like, what the world is happening here? I don't understand. But Amiga, are you clenching your fists or are you opening up your hands and saying, Lord, you can have it all? And so, Amiga, maybe this episode is your interruption, maybe you had to interrupt your mourning to listen to this message. And if you're ready to surrender, can we pray this together? I would like for you to just close your eyes and repeat after me Jesus, I believe you died for me and rose again. I gave you my life. I unclenched my fists and I open up my hands. I trust you with my interruptions. Amen. So, amiga, I hope that this message touched you, has you thinking, has you pausing, has you re-evaluating everything around you. But most importantly, I hope this episode encouraged you. And if it did, please share it with someone else who perhaps needs to be interrupted. And if you wouldn't be, and if you would be so kind, please subscribe, leave me a review. I love to read them. And remember, Amiga, you are loved, you are chosen, and you are on a mission. I'll see you next Saturday. Amiga, thank you for tuning in to the Mommy on a Mission podcast. If this episode blessed you, encouraged you, or gave you that little push you needed, please share it with another woman who needs it. That's how we build this community independent walking holy and purpose. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you're ready to go, you can connect with me on Instagram. Or you can join the Montana LinkedIn podcast community on Facebook where women are here.