No Coincidences
Welcome to the Solidarity podcast,
where we share stories to connect with one another, find comfort in life’s challenges & to celebrate the solidarity that is..
being a woman.
Today I am so excited to be sharing with you Erica’s story. Erica is a new mom, Christian author, speaker and wife. As I’ve gotten to know Erica in last few weeks it’s become glaringly evident that we were supposed to meet.
Like her new book preaches, I don’t think meeting was a coincidence. We have so much in common. Midwest girls desiring to be Carrie Bradshaw & move to NYC. We both had baby boys during the pandemic. We both have been involved in the wedding industry & we’re both stay at home moms, writers & entrepreneurs.
Recently Erica wrote a book- “Constant Pursuit” it is fabulous. A collection of stories of incredible moments that God worked in her life. To the world they’re coincidental & good luck- but to believers we know who the real orchestrator really is.
Growing up we had a God rock jar. A jar full of rocks we’d write on with a date & a few words to commemorate blessings & answered prayers. A visual reminder of how God our loving Father was & is to our family. Y’all, this book is a whole God rock jar!
I 100% encourage you to grab a copy & give it a read. It’s a quick read, trust me, you’ll be in awe of how incredible God is in each and every one of the meticulous details of her stories. As I was reading I was just reminded of so many times that God used details to answer prayers and remind me of how good, powerful, intentional and loving He is. You’ll eat it up just like I did and it may just make you realize that there are in fact, no coincidences. I will link where you can buy her book in the show notes as well as where you can follow Erica’s journey on social media!
Today Erica is sharing the story of how God worked so intentionally in the greatest details of her life. From her job, to her husband to her son. When everyone else was trying to put their 2 cents in, Erica & her husband kept their eyes on God and they were blessed for that.
This may be especially encouraging to those of you who keep getting asked every 5 seconds “so, when’s the baby coming?” you know, that question you get approximately 5 minutes after your honeymoon ends.
Alright , enough of me, let’s settle in & listen to one of the beautiful stories when God worked in Erica’s life.
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
Hi, my name is Erica Hedtke Barreto.
I am a new mommy, a Christian author & speaker and wife. I grew up in the Midwest and now hop and move wherever I feed God is calling me.
I used to think the word solidarity applied to just yourself, like “I’m going to stay strong in solidarity,” as if we were meant to do life alone.
Growing up wanting to the be the next Carrie Bradshaw, I was destined to a path of success, admiration, designer clothing and solidarity.
There were consistent’s in my life, like this plan, along with traveling the world, being single & child-less.
But, all of that was my plan before I truly knew Christ.
At this point in the story, I was still pursuing my fashion degree in college and exhausted with my life. After being in a dead-end relationship for three years, I was fed up. I was sick & tired of dating guys who were never meant to be my husband. I was tired of being so dishonest with myself for all of those years. But mostly, I was disappointed that I wasn’t trusting God in the topic of my heart. After coming to this self-reflection, I knew what I had to do. I prayed. I got down on my knees, with my heart on my sleeve and gave it to God. I apologized for trying to play Him, when it came to finding my forever partner. I apologized for not trusting in Him and His timing. I asked Him to take the weight off my shoulders, as it was too heavy a burden to carry.
Months had passed and I had forgotten all about being single and my old flesh wants. It was so refreshing and liberating. At this point, all I was focused on what my upcoming abroad trip to Venezuela. All I could think about was getting good grades and be on the fast track to graduation, but God had other intentions, as He introduced me to my now, Venezuelan husband. But, that’s a whole other story!
Still settled into our Manhattan, Bradshaw lifestyle, God was slowly working on my heart. One Sunday morning, I was asked to watch a baby girl for a worship member. Having virtually no babysitting experience or maternal instincts (so I thought), the Holy Spirit nudged me to take the opportunity. During that weekly time spent watching her, over a 1 ½ time frame, my heart blossomed. Suddenly, I could see myself as a mom. Suddenly, I was receiving compliments for my calm and soothing nature. Even more surprisingly, suddenly, I longed for my own baby.
After being married for two years, the pressure from others about our family timetable was beginning to weight heavy on us. Questions like, “why aren’t you pregnant yet?” and “Have you gone to the doctor because clearly something must be wrong…” was beginning to be too hard to handle. We knew in our heart of hearts that God wouldn’t have opened my heart and turned it 180 without blessing our family. But again, in His timing. Similar to giving up the topic of finding a soulmate, we dropped to our knees in prayer and said, “Lord God, we are tired; tired of other peoples ideas and timelines, other peoples desires and expectations and then, their let down. God, it is too heavy a burden. We trust in you and your timing, if and when we will be blessed with a child. Lord God, soften our hearts towards those who don’t see our perspective and simply help us shine your light. You know our heart longs for a beautiful angel but until that day comes, please take this topic off our hearts and minds.”
Eight months later, completely distracted by the daily hustle and bustle, two pregnancy sticks confirmed that we were pregnant; exactly on Gods beautiful timing.
During my five-year marriage, God had been working on me, like a beautifully delicate sculpture, chipping away my own selfish desires and transforming my heart to use my passions and skills for His glory. Like Riley, I felt called to something that was outside my comfort zone; Blogging. I wanted to be obedient, so I created a free site to jot down my thoughts on Christianity. During that time, I also began journaling ways in which I saw Christ move in my life.
As I would work at my high-end fashion job by day, my heart ached for God by night. I couldn’t help but feel this constant tug- God wanted me to release myself, meanwhile, the enemy was calling me to Earthly things. Testimony after testimony, it became clear that God has already won the war and was again winning this battle. After a lot of prayer and spousal conversations, I decided to take a leap of faith and quit my job. I didn’t exactly know the game plan, except that I was going to follow where God led me. I quickly found out His plan. I was to turn all of my testimonies into a book, to help glorify His kingdom.
Shortly later, Constant Pursuit was born. It is a beautiful book filled with real life interactions with our Creator, along with dreams from a witty wanna-be evangelist.
This is my story, but I believe that we all have stories, in solidarity, that are similar. As soon as we let our Earthly desires and flesh fade away, we allow God to step in and collect the real fame and glory. And truly allow us to work together in solidarity towards His plans.
I thank Riley for allowing me the chance to speak here and share my story. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, write a review, follow me at Erica Hedtke Barreto on Instagram (@ericahedtkebarreto) & Twitter (@EricaHedtke), my website is www.ericahedtkebarreto.com, and please go check out my book, Constant Pursuit on Amazon today.
Thank you so much and I pray that you see God is calling you and actively pursuing you in a life of solidarity.
♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
Ahh, wasn’t that incredible?
God seriously blows me away with the perfect details. There are seriously no coincidences with God. When we listen in and follow His direction, incredible things happen.
I really have nothing more to add except, be sure to read Erica’s book. I’m serious, it’s so good and I truly think you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the times God has worked in your life and if you’re not so sure about the Jesus thing, you may just discover how much God truly cares about our heart’s desires and the incredible plans He has for you.
Just so ya’ll know, I’m not going to be adding much to the episodes where I’m sharing other people’s stories because I really want them to speak for themselves. So if they’re on the shorter end, that’s why.
Anyways, if you’d like to share your story, I’d love to have you on the podcast, you can DM me on Instagram or reach out- riley@rileyq.com.
Don’t forget all of the links & information shared in today’s episode will be in the show notes.
If you enjoyed today’s episode please share with a friend who needs to hear this, help me get the word out on social media and if you’re feeling it, subscribe and leave a review to help get it out to others on the algorithm who need to be shown some solidarity! Thanks again for listening and be sure to check back next Wednesday for a new episode!
As always, I’m so glad you’re here. You’re wanted, needed and loved. I see you, I hear you and you my love, by the grace of God, you are enough.
As always, I’m so glad you’re here.
You’re wanted, needed and loved.
I see you, I hear you and you my love, by the grace of God, you’re enough.