4. She Waited Two Years for a Positive Pregnancy Test—Then God Moved (with Sarah Salain)

In this episode of Faith Over Fear: The Christian Pregnancy & Birth Podcast, I’m joined by my very first guest—Sarah Salain, a registered nurse, Christian holistic health coach, and new mama—who shares her powerful story of waiting, surrender, and God’s faithfulness.

After years of hormonal challenges and praying for a baby, Sarah found herself walking through a long and painful season of infertility. As a health coach supporting other women through fertility struggles, her own waiting felt especially heavy—until God moved in a way only He could.

In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, Sarah shares:

🌱 What it was like to walk through infertility while helping others heal
 ✝️ How the Lord clearly led her to wait—despite pressure to pursue fertility treatments
 🤰 The joy and gratitude she experienced throughout pregnancy
 🕯️ Her powerful, faith-centered hospital birth and the moment her life verse came to life
 💛 The raw realities of postpartum, surrendering expectations, and finding purpose in motherhood

Scripture Shared:
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18 (NIV)
(Spoiler: Her baby was born at 8:18 PM 🕯️)

A Prayer for You:
At the end of the episode, I offer a prayer especially for the mama in the waiting—whether you're longing for a baby, facing an unexpected diagnosis, or just needing reassurance that God sees you. May Sarah’s story remind you that God’s timing is never late and His promises are always true.

Mentioned in this episode:
✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library – Free tools & worship playlists to help you prepare with peace
💛 Explore Doula Support & Childbirth Education – Virtual and in-person care for faith-led births
🌿 Connect with Sarah – Learn more about her work through Simply Sarah Healing

If this episode encouraged you, please take a moment to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. Let’s keep choosing faith over fear—one birth story at a time.

👉 Visit the full blog post for show notes, transcript, and links to everything mentioned!

Transcript

Natalie Portman: 0:45

Hey friends, and welcome back. I'm so excited for today's episode because I'm welcoming my very first guest to the show, Sarah Salain. is a registered nurse, a new mama, and the founder of Simply Sarah Healing. supports women through fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum with a faith-filled holistic approach. I had the honor of meeting Sarah when she took my childbirth education class during her own pregnancy, and her story is such a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness. In today's conversation, we talk about her health journey, her miraculous birth story, and how she's helping other women find peace and clarity in their own wellness journeys. you'll be encouraged by her heart and reminded that God is present even in the waiting. Sarah, welcome to the podcast.

Sarah Salain: 1:35

Thank you for having me, Natalie. I'm so excited.

Natalie Portman: 1:37

I'm so excited too. let's just get rolling. Let's start from the beginning. What was your journey like to actually becoming pregnant?

Sarah Salain: 1:47

Our journey was a little longer than expected. We were dealing with a lot of like hormonal issues, so it was quite a trying process to be honest with you. We were trying for a little over two years to conceive and so we were just trying to figure it all out. We got to the point where we actually reached out to an infertility specialist. That was like my very last straw. We're like, okay, we've been waiting for so long now, like maybe we do need extra support. That's what I do for a living is help women heal their hormones and balance their hormones and beat infertility. So it was like a double-edged sword because my clients were getting pregnant following my protocols and I was not. Everyone around me all of our friends were getting pregnant family members, everything. And so And so of course it. I was celebrating everyone around us, but it was still painful that we were going through that silent battle. We didn't really tell anyone close people to us knew that we were struggling, but I don't think anyone really knew the extent of how heavy it was on our heart. And so I got to the place around. Actually, it was this time last year we actually found out that we were pregnant, which is wild. But around February last year, we got to like our tipping point of what is happening and I was frustrated. I was let down. I was at the place where I was starting to see life being okay without being a mom, I would say it was, I was trying to come to terms with it deep down was I really know. But I was just trying to come to terms with the fact that maybe this wasn't for us. Like thinking about all the trips that we could take and let's go over to Europe and let's do this and let's do that. And just trying to imagine life if it were to just be me and my husband and we decided to go seek. Fertility specialist and we drew labs. We did the whole nine. And. Basically presented some options for us, like procedures and medication and this and that, and it just did not feel right to me at all. It just didn't feel aligned, which is probably why it took so long to get there in the first place. Honestly, it was just out of a form of desperation really. And I honestly just wanted the lab work to see okay, am I missing something? What's going on here? A few things did come back that were a little out of range and it was just disheartening'cause they didn't wanna address those before we like jumped into medication or anything. So it was really heavy on my heart. I prayed about it a lot and I decided, I had the tough conversation with my husband this is not what I wanna do. I really don't wanna do this. And that was a really hard decision to make and verbalize it too. Because why wouldn't I, I wanted to be a mom so bad, why wouldn't I, sign up, pay and do the procedures and take the medication and, that felt my chance to be a mom was like wrapped up in a bow and here you go. You can have it this way. And it just didn't feel right. I cannot even explain. It was just like this deep feeling like on my heart when I was praying about it. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. Just wait. Be patient. I have more for you is like all the stuff that I kept hearing. And around this time too, my husband we were thinking about moving and so we were like, that was up in the air. An opportunity was presented to us. We're like, do we take it? Like what do we do? And it's crazy, Natalie.'cause we could not come to a decision like it was just like so heavy on our heart and our household. Like you could feel the energy of it. What are we doing? Are we gonna move? Are we gonna move? Are we gonna move? He could not make a decision. And literally at the last minute he is I just feel like we need to stay here. I feel like we're supposed to stay here. So we went to the fertility specialist in February and we found out that we were pregnant in May. So it was just very it was shocking to find out I was pregnant, but in that moment it really felt like everything came together. Like the Lord was like, just wait. I have something better for you. I just, you just have to hold out on it. And I could feel that so heavily in our journey. So yeah, it's. It was a wild journey to get pregnant, honestly.

Natalie Portman: 5:54

Such a testament to the Lord's faithfulness it's also just beautiful to see your obedience in that season, because obviously he did, he blessed you guys with a baby how was your pregnancy overall and how did you prepare, emotionally, spiritually, and practically for that?

Sarah Salain: 6:12

So I loved being pregnant. It was probably honestly the best that I've ever felt in my entire life. I enjoyed every moment of my pregnancy. I really did. Of course, there were some hard days, and the third trimester really knocked me down a little bit. But really, truly loved. Every second of it. I don't know if that just came from a place of feeling so much gratitude that I was able to experience it and just shocked at what my body could do on a daily basis. But honestly, I really, I just loved it. I felt so honored. I felt like I get to do this, I'm honored that I get to do this. I get to grow this baby. I get to nourish this baby. I just. I don't know. I had so much gratitude that I was just living in this like bubble. I loved pregnancy. I was so scared. So I actually started talking on social media about it a little bit. I was so scared to be pregnant because I had heard so many horror stories you're gonna feel terrible and you're gonna be the sickest you've ever felt. And it's terrible. It's the worst nine months of your life. You're gonna hate every second of it. And so I was petrified and when I was experiencing it, I just never felt that way. I just. Loved every second of it. And so I did a lot of prep. My husband and I both did a lot of prep on that. Like infertility, struggling to get pregnant. We revamped our entire home. We got rid of toxins. I revamped my entire nutrition. He did too. We were like in the best health that we could be in. And so I lived. I would like to say I was living an 80 20 rule, but I was living like a 90 10.'cause I really was desperate to get pregnant and I really wanted my body to be in the best place possible for that. And I do think that contributed to a really good pregnancy. As far as like spiritually, I just felt so overcome. Like this whole journey has really, I feel brought me closer to the Lord in a way. Which is really weird. Like I've always had a great relationship. I feel like a personal relationship with the Lord and my faith, and I've always relied on that, but it brings it to the next level when.

Natalie Portman: 8:23

Oh.

Sarah Salain: 8:25

When you're pregnant and after childbirth, like it just does something to you internally. And so I've just relied on that. Like I relied on that on the hard days. I relied on that on the really good days that he's here and that this is a gift and I get to experience that. And she was perfectly made because of him, and that's just an honor. So that's how I prepared for that season.

Natalie Portman: 8:50

I love that. And then you also hired a doula.

Sarah Salain: 8:53

I did hire a doula. That was the first thing I did. I met Kahla. I actually reached, so I posted on a mom's group. That was the first thing I did. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I'm like, we need a doula. Because I knew nothing about I. Childbirth. I knew nothing about it. I'm a nurse. I've had rotations in labor and delivery. All I knew was I was petrified and I wanted someone with a holistic approach. I didn't even think I wanted to do an unmedicated birth. I was just like, I just want someone in the room with me to support me.

Natalie Portman: 9:25

Yeah.

Sarah Salain: 9:26

on Mom's page and. So many people had recommended you guys had recommended Kahla. And so I clicked on the website. There were hundreds of comments for doulas, hundreds, and when I clicked on the website, I saw that it was faith-based and easy decision. It just, I didn't even think twice about it. I booked the call link or whatever I had to do and I set up a time to meet her. I had met Kahla before we even had our first confirmation ultrasound.

Natalie Portman: 9:55

Oh, I love that.

Sarah Salain: 9:57

So she was literally like the first person that really knew that we were pregnant and then when we had the confirmation it was just like bam. And so Kahla has literally been with us from the very beginning. But yeah, that support I. Within itself even especially that early on because of course when you're trying for so long, there's a lot of fear and some doubt creeps in. Is this really gonna work for us? Is this really our time? And so having Kahla that early on was really nice too.

Natalie Portman: 10:26

Yes. And for those who are not aware, Kahla Jurney and I, Sarah's doula and I work together. We're in a doula collective. So yeah, we worked together. And then Sarah, you took my childbirth ed class as well. So that's how I got to actually meet you in person was during that class.

Sarah Salain: 10:42

Oh, I loved that class so much. When people think, you think about a childbirth class and you're like, okay, I have to do this, I should do this, and then your husband's oh, do we have to do this? But you just should do it. I left that class in tears because I felt so empowered and. Has always scared me. It's always scared me. I've never really wanted to do it. I'm like, if I could have the baby but not actually physically have the baby let's do that. But when I left that class, I'm like, gosh, I can do this. I feel really empowered. So I love that class. And you offer that online now too, right?

Natalie Portman: 11:14

I do. Yeah, so I'm offering it online, and then if you're local, in Jacksonville, then I do it still in person as well. But yeah. Oh, I'm so glad that you feel that way because that,

Sarah Salain: 11:24

Yeah.

Natalie Portman: 11:25

is my prayer, is that we would face this season not with fear. We would not make decisions out of fear, but we would walk in faith and walk out this season just knowing that it is not up to us to make everything fall into place, that he is the one that's in control, that he is the one that is planning and establishing. Everything that's taking place. And, I know a little bit about your birth story, but I can't wait for you to get into the birth story because I know there was just like some really amazing, just like God things that happened. So let's just dive right into your birth story. How far along were you when you actually went into labor?

Sarah Salain: 12:06

Okay. Yeah. This is actually the first time I've talked about my birth. In person, like live, like I've had conversations about it with friends and stuff, but I've never really talked about it and I haven't talked about it on social media either. Okay. So back it up to, I think 20 weeks at our anatomy scan, or maybe even before that our girly was growth restricted, so I had some placenta complications and so we were going to get scans every four weeks for her growth. She was falling like a little behind on the charts, but nothing serious. I. And all of our blood work came back fine, so they weren't too concerned. But as we started getting to the end, she started dropping percentiles quite a bit. And I just had this feeling I kept telling everyone for about a month. I'm like, so her due date was the 27th of January, and I just had this feeling that she was coming the 17th, 18th, or 19th. I just. I had wrote it in my little journal that I was journaling to her my whole pregnancy. I'm like, I just don't think that it's happening on the 27th. And so leading up to that appointment at 37 weeks, we were gonna do another scan to check her. And I just had this deep feeling. So I actually called an acupuncturist, and I said, Hey, is there any way that we can do like a crash course of acupuncture to induce labor before my 37 weeks? Because I really have a feeling they're gonna induce me. In three days. And she's normally this is not how fast we do this. Let's just try it, give it a go. So she was amazing. She came to my home. And basically we just wanted to make sure that baby was responding okay and doing it things safely. So we did the first session and Natalie, there was something very spiritual that happened during that session. I just, I don't know, it was. It was like my last moments with her inside of me. And I had this whole thing where I was just not ready for it. I was not ready to give birth. I was not ready for it, to not be just me and her anymore, like just this protection over her. I was not ready. And so the acupuncturist came to my home. We did it at my bedroom, and it was just so spiritual. Like I had the worship music playing and I could just feel it was my job as a mother to tell her like, okay, it's time to come. Everything's fine. We're waiting for you. You're safe. And so we did two nights of that and Labor had, kicked on just a little bit. And when I went in for my 37th week appointment, of course she had dropped her percentiles. Her movement was decreased and they were like, okay, you're getting induced tonight. You're having this baby tonight. And so that went against everything that I wanted. I did not wanna be induced, Natalie. That was the last thing I ever wanted, was to have pitocin. I was terrified of that. I just wanted a spontaneous labor. I wanted to trust the Lord's timing. So that kind of threw me for a loop. Like I literally cried. I had a breakdown as soon as she came into the room and she's you're having your baby today. I was like, no, I don't wanna do that. So we went into the hospital to be induced and honestly, I. I wasn't fearful at all, and I thought I was going to be, I don't know what overcame me, but I just wasn't very fearful at all. I just walked in and I was like, we're doing this because we don't have another choice. But never in the process of this entire situation did I feel scared or fearful or anything. I just had this reassurance like, come over me, like everything's gonna be okay. And thankfully, with Kahla's guidance and everything and the practice that I was with, we did a really slow induction that really, truly mimicked natural childbirth. They attempted their hardest to mimic a natural childbirth. And yeah, we started the induction that night and then around 5:00 AM they started Pitocin. But I was like contracting and everything was going and going, but I was not feeling any pain. And I'm like, surely this cannot be. What's going on here? Like I had, I'm not feeling any pain, and so we decided to break my water. No one told me that was like a zero to 100.

Natalie Portman: 16:13

Yeah, it is how quickly things change when that water's broken. For a lot of women it definitely can. Yeah.

Sarah Salain: 16:22

It was very insane to me. Yeah, I didn't even have a full 60 seconds to catch my breath and I thought I'd have okay, five minutes. Kahla was like, typically things speed up pretty fast after this I just did, was not prepared for how fast. And so we broke my water and that's when things started to get really intense. Kahla went into just full work mode. So my room was beautiful. The lights were dim. I don't think the lights were ever bright at all. Actually they weren't the entire time. We had little twinkle lights everywhere. We had the birthing tub set up. That's something I really wanted to do'cause I'm a water bug and I love hot water. So I knew I wanted to do that. And we had worship music playing. It was just this. Serene environment. How could it be in a hospital room? I've never said that in my life. I worked in the hospital. It's always been like sterile and gross to me, but it was just this crazy experience When my water broke, we went straight into the tub and I know a lot of people say water is like nature's epidural, but really and truly it was not that bad.

Natalie Portman: 17:27

Yeah, it's like you become so much lighter and buoyant in the water and it just melts some of that pressure. It's incredible.

Sarah Salain: 17:36

it's incredible. And I just floated there for about two hours. The worship music was going and that was just, in my head and it just felt like this huge presence of the Lord was in the room. You could just feel it. And. Yeah, it was just the surreal experience, truly, and I kept telling myself, is it gonna get worse? Is it gonna get worse because. I just felt like very comfortable and I felt very confident in what I was doing and I really was just surrendering to it. I guess that's what I could say. I was surrendering to the process. There was surrendering to what my body was doing and what my body was telling me to do, and I wasn't fighting it. I was just trying to breathe through it and just lean into how women are innately. And yeah, it was just amazing. I told Kahla, I'm like, I think I have to push. I think I need to get out of this tub. And it's crazy because like I said before, I didn't even know when I had met Kahla or hired a doula or any of that if I wanted to actually do a unmedicated birth. It was just like this little thought in my mind, like maybe my husband's yeah, you should do it. And even leaning up to the day of, I still didn't know if I was like, okay, maybe like maybe I can do it. But being in that room, it was never. Never even a thought in my head like, I need an epidural, or I need pain medication, or I can't do this. How never once crossed my mind. It was just surreal. I felt that I got to experience all of that and feel all of it. Yeah, so then we transferred over to the bed and we started pushing and I guess the whole labor process, of active labor was only four hours, so I.

Natalie Portman: 19:20

Wow.

Sarah Salain: 19:21

Really quick process. Once that water was broken, that was like the last thing that just needed to happen. She came pretty quick. But when you're in it, days could have passed and I wouldn't have known. You're like in this light of just.

Natalie Portman: 19:35

I call it labor land and labor land. There is no time. uh, It's very hard to explain.

Sarah Salain: 19:41

Very hard. I felt like at some points, and I'm pretty sure I told Kahla this, that I'm like leaving my body. I think I'm leaving my body. Like I just felt like it was in a whole different realm of things.

Natalie Portman: 19:55

Well, you're literally Operating in a different part of your brain, it, it does feel out of body. Like I also, as you were saying, that like kind of got transported back to whenever I was in my birth pool and like I, I distinctly remember a time kind of felt out of body. Like kind of see myself, but I could obviously couldn't, but it was, yeah, it's very intense. Like you're just going into. Like a very deep instinctual part of yourself that you probably rarely go to.

Sarah Salain: 20:24

I have never felt that way in that sense at all. And not in a bad way, just. Out of, I've never experienced anything like that. Intense is a good word to put it. It was the most intense thing I've ever experienced in my life. In a very good way. And I had all the supportive measures though, and that was the amazing thing about having a doula, having Kahla, there was my husband. Was there with me, but I think I would've given into the fear if it had just been the two of us in the hospital room. Instead, I had Kahla there and she was, keeping ice on my back, had the fan in my face using peppermint oil, the tens unit massage, down to the fact that she literally kept. Putting chapstick on my lips'cause she knows that I didn't wanna have dry lips. Like all those little things meant so much because I didn't have to focus on anything else. She had literally everything handled. And I could hear her in the background of, telling my husband, you're doing great. Like you're doing everything that you can do for her. And she was encouraging him. He's like, I don't know if I'm doing the right things. I don't know if I'm saying the right things. I don't know what I could do for her. And so hearing her encourage him was amazing too. And then, when it got to the hard part of, I. I don't know if I can do this. Like I knew I could, but I'm like, oh, this is getting a little hard. How much longer? I remember saying to Kahla specifically, I'm like, this is really painful. And she's like, yeah, it is painful. And she validated how I felt in that. Experience and she reassured me that pain and the discomfort that I was feeling was going to be re bring me closer to my baby. And hearing those words were was just so encouraging. It wasn't like, no, it's not that much pain. Or, yeah, it's painful now, but it's not gonna last forever. It was very much real. Yes, this is painful and you're experiencing this right now, and that is valid and it's gonna bring you closer to your baby. And I will never forget when she said that. I'm

Natalie Portman: 22:23

Yep. Pain with a Purpose.

Sarah Salain: 22:25

Yeah. Yeah. And I remember the way she just intertwined everything and. Just filled my birth experience with the Lord was unreal to me and amazing. To the point where, so we got out of the tub and we were pushing, I was pushing for quite a bit. She was a little lopsided in there. I. But I distinctly remember, like my husband was behind me, and he's like, if you have the baby now, it'll be at 8:18 PM and eight 18 is my favorite Bible verse, Romans eight 18. And it's basically like for, I consider the current sufferings to, at this present time are not. Compared to the glory to be revealed. And I actually have that eight 18 tattooed on my wrist right before I went to see the fertility specialist. I was just at the brink of it, and eight 18 was just on my heart. I'm like, I'm getting this tattooed for my baby. It's carrying me through this really hard time. And that's just something that I always relied on. Like what you're going through right now, it's gonna get better. Glory is gonna be revealed. He is gonna reveal it to me. It's not worth the suffering right now. Like it's going to turn around and I've relied on that verse for a lot of things in my life. But truly like our infertility journey is what really I relied on. And sure enough, she was born at eight 18,

Natalie Portman: 23:55

I have goosebumps over my whole body. That is insane.

Sarah Salain: 23:59

Every time I think about it, I get goosebumps. I still feel like I haven't come to terms with it yet, but it really was like the Lord saying this is what you waited for. This perfect baby is what you waited for, and I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna let you know. Yeah, she was born January 17th, so she did not come on the 27th. She came on the weekend. I thought she was gonna come and January 17th at 8:18 PM

Natalie Portman: 24:26

Love that so, so much. How did the postpartum time go? I mean, You're only, what, 15 weeks postpartum right now, so you're still very much in the thick of it. But how how did those first couple days go with her?

Sarah Salain: 24:40

So yes, very much. Still in the thick of it. We're still a little bit in the trenches. Just as a first time mom, I'm learning a lot. There's a lot that I don't know, and yeah, they say. A lot of it is innate and I think it is for sure, but it is a huge adjustment to life. So the first few days were a little rough. She actually ended up going into the nicu, so our hospital stay wasn't really like the typical hospital stay, so we just didn't get a lot of that. Super amazing bonding time. We did try to spend as much time in the NICU with her as possible. And then coming home was just a lot of relaxing and recovering and spending as much time with her as possible. I remember like the only thing in my mind was take as many videos as you can, and it was a really special time yeah, we just all got to snuggle this tiny little baby and just come to terms with the fact that she's here.

Natalie Portman: 25:32

Oh, I love that so much. And then how how did you do, like recovery wise, did you feel like it was. Or tougher than you imagined it would be.

Sarah Salain: 25:43

I'm not gonna lie to you. I did not prepare for postpartum, not one bit. Not one bit. I was so scared to give birth that I could not even get my brain to the fact that I was actually gonna leave the hospital and experience postpartum and have a child, like there was a block there.

Natalie Portman: 26:04

I feel you. And, And I shared that in my story with my second because I, same thing, I just was like, I'm just gonna get to this birth and. the things and then completely neglected to really care for myself for that postpartum time. Preparing for, you know, the fact that I have another kid that I also need to take care of and all the things. So I feel you there, and I'm a doula, so I should know this. And we just have to cut ourselves some slack on that one.

Sarah Salain: 26:30

Yeah. Yeah, I definitely did not prepare. The recovery was a little bit more rough than what I expected. I anticipated having a natural childbirth, and I just really anticipated it being an easy recovery. I. Online. You see so many people, three weeks postpartum going on a mile walk. I was healthy before, I was very active, before I was healthy and active my entire pregnancy. So I was just shocked at the recovery. But I would say around that eight week mark, I started feeling like myself again.

Natalie Portman: 26:59

Well, And it's so fascinating because I feel like, especially like high achievers, like you strike me as a high achiever, but it's. actually counterintuitive to think to yourself. I can't wait to see all the things I can get back into or try to get back to my quote unquote normal self. Those that type of mentality ends up biting you in the butt. And I fell into that trap myself. I try to encourage mamas. That a sign of success in that postpartum time is not all of the things you're doing. It's not bragging about the fact that you're going on walks around the neighborhood, one week postpartum. It's like, That's not the point. It's a time to slow down, to savor those moments, the times with that little, little newborn. Absolutely fly by take as many pictures and videos as you can because that baby, that version of your, of your child is very quickly going to change, and if you rest, you will recover faster. It's just a fact.

Sarah Salain: 28:06

Yeah. No, I appreciate that so much because it's true when you say that, just I think around like 12 weeks, she really started changing. Just like now I look at her and she's got this full personality and she is rolling and. Moving and has an opinion about stuff and I'm like, oh my gosh, you're like a little toddler. Like she's obviously not, but she's not a newborn anymore and those days are over. So it does rapidly fly by for sure. And I've struggled with that a lot, as a business owner and just. Very type A driven likes to do everything and likes to do it. On my terms, it's been a lot to find my new capacity is what I'm saying, and it's been a lot of surrendering. It's been a lot of days in my kitchen doing laps with worship, music with my baby pressed to my chest, surrendering to it and saying the laundry can pile up because I'm. Doing what I need to do for this child. The work can wait because I am serving my child. And so I've been trying very hard to see postpartum and motherhood as, and I think I mentioned this when I talked to you before, like kingdom work like

Natalie Portman: 29:21

Yes.

Sarah Salain: 29:21

this. Is a ministry now, this is what I do, my sole purpose is for my child. And so surrendering to that, although it sounds like so beautiful and it is, it's very hard.

Natalie Portman: 29:35

Yeah, well, because you don't get a time of that hat off, taking off that role. like once you have in your heart the desire to have a baby from that point on, you are tethered to either that goal or that dream of becoming a mom. And then once they're conceived and born. Forever that is the role that you will have. And it's not that they completely and utterly take over your life for the rest of your life, but the Lord certainly does call us to a season where will be much more give than take and you're just discipleship of them begins immediately. everything You are doing is too. them up in the ways of the Lord, to know the Lord, to love him, to hopefully serve him one day. But it, begins from the very beginning and that weight is so much, but I think if we. If we try to just skip ahead to like the next season, we can miss out on the fact that like, changing a diaper is kingdom work. Just like Jesus dressed himself as a servant and washed his disciples feet. He made himself the lowest and, and said, and now I want you to all do this too. So as mamas, we are loving and serving just like Jesus did. When we love and serve our babies,

Sarah Salain: 31:01

It's an honor to be able to do that.

Natalie Portman: 31:03

But it's also extremely draining. And so kind of, you know what Kahla said about, you know you're experiencing. Yes. This is hard. So to validate that, but also to say, but it's pain with a purpose like that is the motherhood journey. Like There is hardly anything more sanctifying than becoming a mama. I mean, Quite literally you go through the trial, whether that's a vaginal delivery or a cesarean delivery, you go through the trial of growing, giving birth to that baby, raising them, feeding them, changing them all, doing all the things. But yeah, it is, pain with a purpose for sure.

Sarah Salain: 31:41

so true. There is so much of a miracle and it just continuously happens, like it's just a Ever giving miracle. And so it's amazing to see that.

Natalie Portman: 31:53

yeah. No, for sure. Well, I wanted kind of switch gears here. Thank you so much for sharing your birth story, but I wanted to kind of talk about Simply Sarah Healing. What made you decide to start your business, and how did you know God was leading you to serve women in that way?

Sarah Salain: 32:10

Oh, that's such a good question, and that's a hard loaded question too. So I was a emergency department nurse. That's where I started my career during the pandemic. And so I started experiencing a lot of my own hormonal issues. Things were off infertility, all those things. I left the bedside to manage my stress because my end goal was to be a mom and based off of my fertility and hormone labs, that was not gonna happen under the stress I was under. Or with the way I was feeling. So my husband and I decided, the move for our family is to. Find something more suitable for our future. And so I left, went into a functional med spa, and at that time I was really struggling with my health. I was really struggling with a lot of things. So I signed up to be a holistic nutritionist just solely to help my body heal because I wasn't getting answers from any providers. And when I started seeing the change in my body and leaning into my hormones and what was happening, I'm like, oh my gosh, like I have to. I have to do this. I have to help other women who are also struggling. I knew women were struggling. They were coming to me at the med spa, all the time talking about it. It felt like time to make a switch, and it was like everything in my life was falling apart. Like all the doors were just like slamming shut and I was like, this is my sign. This is my sign because I'm doing life my way and. maybe this is him just closing all of these doors, like he was slamming them shut in my face. And so I just on a whim did it. And I started Simply Sarah Healing. So I help women heal their hormones overcome PCOS infertility, fertility support, and I do it naturally with cycle based nutrition and also just holistic nutrition, lifestyle changes. And it's wild because I always say I never really publicly talk about the things that I'm going through until I come out on the other side. And so my business is really wrapped up in that. Like it served me to the point where I knew that this is what I had to do with one my career, but two, like my life, I feel like this is my trajectory to my life. I feel like God gave me the circumstances of struggling to conceive a child and having hormonal issues and going through all of those struggles and painful times. I feel like he gave me that because he knew that I wouldn't lose myself in it. I wouldn't just fall into that. I would surrender to it and get through it and come out on the other side, and I really, truly feel like I do what I do and I'm good at it because. I lived it. I am that person that I work with. And so I feel like the Lord really blessed me in that way, although very painful times. He knew that I would help other women on the other side of it, and I strongly believe in that.

Natalie Portman: 35:01

Yes, definitely. you know, I feel like a lot of women, they feel overwhelmed when they start looking into like holistic health and nutrition. But what would you say to a woman who wants to start taking better care of her body but she doesn't know where to start? I.

Sarah Salain: 35:17

Community, for sure. Community. It can be so isolating, being a mom or being a woman, being a working woman, like whatever you are, whoever you are, whatever you're going through, it can be very isolating. And so trying to work on yourself and work on your health can also be isolating. So find community. I feel like the majority of the clients I work with. They just need love. They need compassion. They need empathy. They need support. They don't have that. I have a whole collective, the She Rebalanced collective. The whole point of that is to get women in community. If you can't find it where you're at, then let's do it virtually. Just finding support, finding friends, finding women who are going through the same thing that you're going through because there is power in. Struggling together and overcoming something. I truly think that is a blessing.

Natalie Portman: 36:11

Absolutely. I mean, It's why like we're called to a church, right? doing the whole Christian thing is not a solo effort. The church is the community of believers. And so yeah, I completely believe the kind of secret sauce there is having other people to not only just empathize with the struggle, but also to encourage you in the victories small and big. Well, Sarah, if somebody is drawn to, working with you if they kind of notice that they're having issues, whether that's fertility or they have been diagnosed with PCOS or they're resonating with your journey. How could they start working with you? What's one of the first steps that they could maybe connect with you?

Sarah Salain: 36:55

Yeah, absolutely. Everyone can find me at Simply Sarah Healing That is my Instagram. I'm most active on Instagram. My website's simplysarahhealing.com, and I offer two things. So I offer private one-on-one coaching, which is you and I work together to come up with a plan, whether it's. Sustainable weight loss or hormone balancing PCOS or infertility. And then I offer my collective, which is she rebalanced, and that is the group collective where we meet once a week. And you really get into community. You learn all about health, whether it's nutrition, lifestyle, adjustments, and hormones. It's very holistic based, mind, body, and soul. It's a beautiful program. So if you're looking for community, that's the place to be.

Natalie Portman: 37:40

That's awesome. Well, thank you Sarah, so, so much for coming on, sharing your birth story, sharing your wellness journey. I know so many women are gonna be encouraged by this. I appreciate you so much.

Sarah Salain: 37:53

Thank you, Natalie. I'm so excited.