Becoming A Mother in LA - Bethany Dirksen

We moved to LA when I was 5 months pregnant with our first child.  Although we were quickly becoming seasoned veterans at moving, this transition combined the nerves of my impending motherhood was daunting.  The only course of action we knew to take was: FIND A CHURCH…and stat.

We moved into a little one bedroom on Franklin Street and saw that two blocks up and one blocks down was a little community church.  It was in what seemed to be a warehouse, but we weren’t going to hold that against them, yet.  We went without looking at the website, researching other churches nearby, or even giving it a second thought.  It was nice.  The people talked to us, the music wasn’t like a pop concert, and they even did communion regularly.  We said to each other, “That’ll do,” and searched no further.  Westside Christian Fellowship had officially become our LA church home.


Within the four months until little baby Dirksen was born, we attended Sunday mornings regularly, joined a small group with other families, and went to monthly dinners.  It was ALL uncomfortable and we had to push ourselves with every step, but we knew that a community was going to be needed for the next few months.  I would need people to make meals, I would need people to help draw me out of the house, I would need people to pray for and encourage me.  And thank the Lord I wasn’t the only one that knew I needed this, because its within Christ’s body that I found these things.

I made friends with women who had very young children at church.  They helped me wade through the waters by commiserating the bad days and brainstorming our plans of attack for infant and toddler retaliation.  I made friends with women who had older children at church.  They showed me that one does survive mothering itty bittys and gave me a glorious example of the beauty of motherhood.  I made friends with families at church.  And we saw how marriage goes from a relationship between two independent people to a powerhouse of love and commitment within a family.

I used to make fun of Los Angeles.  As a Pacific Northwesterner, we have long thought that Southern California didn’t deserve to be on OUR coast (no really…that’s what they all think).  Friendship, families, motherhood, Christ’s church…these are not the things people expect to find in LA.  It’s now comical that LA is the place where I actually resided, where I actually birthed two children, and where I actually met Christ through the many members of his family who profoundly impacted my personal and spiritual growth.  

Who knew?