Hi readers! I am honored today to have the below story featured in the Brave Women’s Series from Becky Beresford. The story is a part of my larger life-story and deals with my identity as a woman and how I found the courage to pray for God to help me to be the woman He created me to be. I hope you will read and be encouraged.

Furthermore, I am currently working on writing my larger memoir, which this story, in greater depth and detail, will be embedded into. You can begin to read my memoir here. Also, to receive emails from my website when I post new content, you can subscribe below.

I laid there in the dark, on the top bunk, under my puffy comforter, cuddling with my stuffed toy dog. I whispered a prayer.

“God, change me into a boy. Please? I want to be a boy so much.”

In that moment, I felt I would wake up the next morning and see boy parts growing, replacing my God-given feminine future. Disappointment washed over me when I woke and was still a girl. But I held out hope that something was happening and it was just a slow process. Grabbing the edge of the top rung of the bunk ladder, I climbed down and continued on with life.

Growing up, my immediate family and I used to travel from idyllic south-central Indiana to the flat, urbanized Region to visit my dad’s side of the family. During those visits, I typically hung out with my cousin, Brayan (who was my age), his younger brother Juan, and my older brother. In our tween years when we converged at grandma’s house for the holidays, the four of us explored the nearby park and businesses together…