Taylor, a parishioner of Precious Blood of Christ Church on Pawleys Island, found out she was pregnant during her senior year of high school.

It was her faith in God’s plan and the welcome of a parish that kept her going.

For Taylor, however, her faith didn’t “just” keep her going. It propelled her to achieve things she never thought she could. In a dark time, it was her faith that transformed, healed and sustained her.

Taylor grew up Catholic, but Sunday Mass was just an obligation. It was something her mother wanted her to do, so she did. 

“For me, it was a routine, not a faithful conviction,” she said.

While dating a boy for just a few months in 2017, she remembered when she began to feel sick.

“I couldn’t ride in my car without getting sick, which was strange because I found solace and peace in long drives and music. One day, right before my shift at Publix … I walked into the CVS in front of the store and bought a pregnancy test. I went into the women’s bathroom at Publix, took the test and five minutes later, my life changed forever. 

“I was pregnant. I was 19, and I was terrified.”

For the first time, Taylor prayed in a way that really meant something.

“That was the beginning of my relationship with God that, slowly and painfully, grew into something living and constant,” she said.

Taylor said that from the very beginning, she was told by many people to “handle the situation.” She was even given a list of abortion clinics at her first doctor’s appointment.

“But something in me said no. Because deep down, I knew this was my child,” she said. “He wasn’t a mistake. He was a gift. That belief gave me strength I didn’t know I had.”

Her parents told her to move out after her high school graduation. So, she went to live with her grandmother, Frances, a woman of deep faith.

Every week, Taylor attended church with her grandmother. She admitted that she felt unwelcome at first, but said it stemmed from her own insecurities.

“They didn’t glare. They didn’t whisper. They prayed beside me. They sang the same hymns. They knelt and stood and offered peace. They welcomed me in silence. The other parishioner’s quiet presence during Mass began to loosen the ball of self-loathing that seemed like my constant companion,” she said.

Taylor said that even when she didn’t feel worthy to be in church, the Lord was still there for her. “Christ in the Eucharist wasn’t waiting for me to be perfect. He was just waiting for me.”

Her son Alexander was born on New Year’s Eve in 2018. He was baptized at St. Mary Our Lady of Ransom Church in Georgetown and later enrolled at St. Michael School in Murrells Inlet.

“I started attending the Friday Children’s Mass, listening to Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast and praying with my son before bed. Slowly, faith stopped being something I avoided and started becoming something I lived,” she said.

Alexander’s biological father said he wasn’t ready for the responsibility of raising a child, so, at age 20, Taylor became a single mother.

“There was no help, financial or otherwise, from the other parent from then on,” she said, “but this was another unknown blessing. I later came to see this through the sacraments, especially confession.”

Taylor has since earned two associate’s degrees and will soon graduate with her bachelor’s in history. She is applying now for master’s degree programs, and her dream is to work in archival research on a Catholic campus.

Alexander is now 6 years old and in first grade. Taylor said he is very active, loves karate and is eager to learn, especially about the Bible.

“If you had told 19-year-old me, sobbing in a Publix bathroom, that this pregnancy would lead to purpose, healing, faith and joy, I would have laughed through my tears. But now, at age 26, I see it clearly. I picked the ‘wrong’ boy, but I got the right child, and through that child, God gave me a second chance at life. This is my testimony.”