Almost three years ago, Katie Garcia suspected she might be pregnant. Panic was her first reaction. She was a new LVN who worked full-time and dreamed of getting her RN. She was unmarried. Her doctors had told her for years that she couldn’t have children, so pregnancy was not in her plans and she was afraid a baby would prevent her from going back to school.
Katie showed up at Options Clinic at closing time, and Summer and Tiffany stayed open to take care of her. Despite her fear and panic, Katie clearly remembers that day—with overwhelming gratitude.
“Summer answered the phone. She could’ve said ‘Hey, we’re closed,’ so I’m really thankful she loves the Lord. I’m really thankful for her heart to just say ‘Come on in.’”
Katie walked through the doors of Options Clinic that day filled with “silent panic, the most silent I’ve ever been, besides sleeping.” Despite her fear, she remembers walking down the hallway and seeing pictures. She remembers the warm environment.
She remembers Tiffany.
“She was warm and welcoming. Knowledgeable. She didn’t talk over me. Just very, very nice.” Tiffany made the whole experience pleasant, despite Katie’s panic.
“Tiffany was very positive. No judgment. But Tiffany, being in the position she’s in—the atmosphere or the anointing she carries or God telling her where she can talk to someone and where she can’t—I’m very appreciative of her sensitivity. She’s very nurturing.”
That was the first time Katie visited Options. The second time, she went back with Justin, now her husband. “He didn’t believe I was pregnant. He kept saying ‘Are you sure this is real?’”
Summer and Tiffany were both “very nice, very welcoming” on this second visit. And Katie and Justin left with something that made the pregnancy very real to both. “They give you your first picture in this little silver paper frame. They try to make it more special, more real. It resonates. That frame makes it a big deal. It’s shiny and silver.” Katie shakes her head. “Justin saw everything.”
After that visit, they both knew the pregnancy was real—and they were both all in. Several months later, they married quietly. Their son, Riggin, was born soon after.
“I wouldn’t give Riggin up for anything. Even in his worst two-year-old tantrums,” Katie says with a rueful laugh. Riggin copies everything she and Justin do and say.
“Riggin ‘reads’ the Bible,” Katie says. “I read the bible study to him on my phone and I try to pray over him every night. And Riggin takes the phone and scrolls through it and waves his hand in the air while babbling.” Katie beams with pride. “This has to make God proud!”
Instead of having to give up her dreams of becoming an RN, Katie is now back in school and working part-time. Despite her busy schedule and full life, you can see the happiness in Katie’s eyes—and the determination. “I keep a picture of my son on my phone, and people always ask me why I’m looking at it. Because he’s my motivation.”
Katie says being a wife, mother, and student is tough, but realizes she is fortunate. “Years ago, I met a woman with two kids, unmarried, and she’d just gotten her bachelor’s degree. She said, ‘You can do it, but it’s going to be hard work, especially with kids.’ And now, after having a kid, I can’t imagine being a single parent with two kids and trying to get my bachelor’s in nursing. Even now, with help.”
Wife. Mother. Student. Nurse. Katie wears a lot of hats these days, but her joy and love shine through every word. What does she have to say about her life?
“God is good.”
Written by Misti Pyles, Grace House Volunteer