After two years of marriage, Erin Boren (new home specialist at Lubbock South) and her husband, Justin (builder at Lubbock West), were ready to grow their family. Like so many couples, they expected the journey to be simple. Instead, month after month brought disappointment.
For nearly a year and a half, Erin tracked every cycle, logged symptoms into apps, and used test after test, only to face the same heartache. “It was exhausting,” Erin says. “There were days I’d cry at my desk at work because I just didn’t understand why it wasn’t happening for us.”
“How do you look at your wife who you love more than any person in the world and tell her, month after month, ‘When it’s the right time, it will happen,'” asks Justin. “You can only say that so many times before you can’t anymore.”
Her teammates noticed the emotional burden Erin carried. Maranda Najar, her coworker and close friend, remembers sitting with Erin in those moments. “She’s tough and doesn’t show her emotions easily,” Maranda shares. “But when she opened up to me about her fertility struggles, it broke down a wall between us. That’s when our friendship really began.”
Eventually, Erin and Justin scheduled an appointment with a fertility specialist. But before that visit, Erin decided to give it “one last try” with a new ovulation tool she had researched. “Let’s just try this for a month before we spend thousands on treatment,” she told Justin.
Around that same time, something special happened at work.
Every Tuesday morning, the Lubbock South sales team gathered for prayer. Their sales manager at the time, Skylar Newdiger, felt strongly about letting God choose who the team prayed over each week, because, in her words, “Only God knows what’s really going on in everyone’s lives.” When the Lord told Skylar it was Erin’s turn for prayer, she was nervous. Growing up Catholic, Erin wasn’t accustomed to being prayed over in a group setting. But what happened that day was unforgettable.
“Normally only a few people would pray out loud,” Erin explains. “But that morning, every single person prayed for us to have a baby. Every one of them. I left that prayer circle a mess. It meant the world that my team would cover me that way.”
Days later, just before her fertility appointment, Erin took yet another test. This time, something looked different. There was a faint second line. Unsure, she sent a photo to Maranda at 6 a.m. “Please tell me this is a line,” she begged.
“It is!” Maranda replied, both of them crying and laughing over the phone. Erin danced in the bathroom with her dog, then texted Justin with the news. When she called to cancel her fertility appointment, the receptionist told her, “This never happens. You’ve got yourself a miracle.”
The miracle’s name is Emmy.
Now a healthy, joyful toddler, Emmy is the Borens’ daily reminder of God’s faithfulness. “Every time I rock her to sleep, I thank God not just for her, but for placing me in a company and on a team that covers each other in prayer,” Erin proclaims.
For Maranda, it was more than answered prayer. It was proof of how God weaves relationships together. “Erin and I always joke that Emmy is our baby too, because I got that 6 a.m. call before Justin did,” she laughs. “But really, it showed me how deep these friendships run at Betenbough. It’s not just work — it’s family.”
“Betenbough is such a big part of our lives since both of us work here,” Justin emphasizes. “This is our community. Coming to work and being with our closest friends every day was a big help, especially in that tough time.”
Skylar, reflecting on those Tuesday prayers, is still moved by how God used that simple act of obedience. “I didn’t know Erin had an appointment scheduled. I just trusted God with the calendar and the timing. And He showed up in a big way,” she recalls.
Looking back, Erin sees Emmy’s life as both a gift and a testimony. “I truly believe she wouldn’t be here without my Betenbough family praying over us,” she affirms. “God used them to encourage me when I had no hope left. Because of that, Emmy is here. She’s our miracle.”
