What “Baby Boom” Taught Me About Faith, Creativity & Choosing Differently
There’s a scene in the movie Baby Boom—an ‘80s gem starring Diane Keaton—that lingered with me long after the credits rolled. I’ve watched it before, but this time, it hit different. Maybe it’s the season I’m in. Maybe it’s what God’s been stirring in me lately.
Either way, this wasn’t just a feel-good film. It was a reminder: there really is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
What we’re navigating today—pressure, pivots, the pull between ambition and peace—it’s been lived before.
And in that story, I saw so many of us.
The Career That Looked Like Success (But Was Slowly Taking Everything)
Keaton’s character was a high-powered exec. Well-respected. Well-compensated. Well... drained.
She didn’t birth her child; she inherited her through an unexpected loss in the family. Though unprepared, she stepped up. She did what women do. She made a way.
But as she tried to juggle this new life with her old one, the cracks showed. Her dream job required 60+ hour weeks, endless availability, and a version of herself she could no longer keep up with. Just before stepping deeper into that grind, God intervened.
A Hidden Dream, Revealed in a Quiet Place
She had always dreamed of buying a home in the countryside. She used to sit and stare at pictures of places like that. Ever do that? Scroll past a life that feels out of reach... but still sparks something deep?
That’s not random. That’s God planting vision.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4
She bought the house. It was imperfect, overwhelming, and filled with problems, but it was hers. And it was there, in what looked like a setback, that life invited her to build something different.
The Applesauce Moment: When Your Hands Find Purpose
She started making applesauce just to pass the time. It wasn’t strategic—it was survival. A pastime turned into provision.
It reminded me of the widow in 2 Kings 4—the one who told Elisha she had nothing but “a little oil.” God used that oil to cancel her debt and set her up for the future.
“Start with what you have in your house.” – 2 Kings 4:2 (paraphrased)
Like the widow—and like Keaton’s character—many of us are sitting on something small that could become something sacred... if we’ll move with it.
Rejection, Redirection, and Real Confidence
When she finally got her big break, an offer came from the very company that once pushed her out to buy her business. I was excited for her although I knew how the script went. She had walked away, somewhat out of pride but not in bitterness. She had seen what was in her hands. She had been humbled. She believed in what she had built.
And that’s the turning point: when you stop waiting for validation and start honoring what God placed in you.
What This Means for You
You don’t have to have it all figured out to start. But you do need to listen when life nudges you toward something more. Here’s how to begin:
Revisit Your Pasttimes.
What do you do that feels good to your soul? That brings peace, joy, or energy even when no one’s watching? That might be your applesauce.Inventory What’s in Your House.
Not just literal items, but skills, experiences, passions, tools. Ask God: What have You already given me that I’ve overlooked?Honor the Pivot.
Don’t resent the reroute. Whether it's through career shifts, caregiving, or even loss—sometimes your redirection is divine.Give God Something to Bless.
Start small. Take the first step. Create the page. Write the plan. Make the thing. Your gift will make room, but only if it moves.
You may not have 62 acres in Vermont waiting for you, but you do have something in your hands. Something that could change your life if you’d stop treating it like a side note.
So what’s your applesauce? And are you ready to give it to God?
I don’t know if you’ve seen Baby Boom, but it’s a great movie. It’s not a Christian movie, but it does speak to us to trust God even when life shifts on us.
