By Renae Pelo

As the mother of ten children, I’ve had a lot of experience with the Law of Gestation—the idea that everything has a natural gestation period before it comes to life. I was pregnant for a total of seven and a half years. (Fortunately, not all at once!)

From the moment I found out I was expecting, I knew I’d need to carry that baby for around 40 weeks to have a healthy delivery. For me, that gestation window turned out to be anywhere from 39 to 41 weeks—and every single time, I was blessed with a beautiful, healthy child.

Of course, there were plenty of moments when I wanted to rush it. Going past the due date made me so ready to be done. But without fail, I was always grateful I waited. The outcome was worth every moment.

When I started working with the Universal Laws, I realized how powerful that lesson was. The Law of Gestation doesn’t just apply to babies—it applies to dreams, goals, healing, and any meaningful change in life. Everything we want to create has its own timing. Just like with pregnancy, we may not see progress for a while, but that doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

What makes it hard, though, is that we don’t get a list of how long each goal will take. We don’t know the due date. We just have to have faith—faith in the goal, in ourselves, and in the process. If we believe in our vision as surely as I believed each of my babies would come, we can be just as sure our goal will be born.

Some dreams show up fast. Others take their sweet time—just like garden seeds. Radishes pop up in 35 days. Winter squash takes 90. And then there’s Japanese bamboo. For five years, it grows just two inches a year—if it's given the proper care. But in the sixth year? It suddenly shoots up 80 feet—in one year! That’s its gestation period. It’s not magic. It’s nature. And we can trust it.

What if we knew it would take 30 years before a child truly appreciated the sacrifices we’ve made for them? Would we still sign up for parenting? Maybe not. But when the moment comes, it’s priceless. I remember one of our daughters calling to apologize for being a difficult teenager. She said, “Mom, I’m so sorry for how I treated you. Please forgive me.” Turns out, her daughter had just told her—while unloading the dishwasher—“You don’t do anything around here and I’m a slave!” We laughed. Oh yes… what goes around comes around. It was pay day for parents.

It’s not just the goals we choose that follow the Law of Gestation. Ideas are planted in our minds all the time—from the media, from others, even from passing comments we don’t realize we’ve absorbed. Advertisers know this well. Through research, they’ve figured out exactly how to plant seeds in our minds—especially when we’re not paying attention.

And it’s not just ads. Friends, family, and society are constantly introducing ideas—some helpful, some harmful. If we accept any of those seeds, they take root. They grow. Maybe not right away, but eventually. Have you ever bought something after seeing the ad a dozen times? That’s a seed that sprouted.

If we want to know what we’ve been planting, we just have to look at the results around us. If we don’t like what we see? We can start planting new seeds—with intention and care.

Just like in pregnancy or gardening, there are things we can do to increase our chances of success. We wouldn’t deprive ourselves of food and water while pregnant. We wouldn’t plant a seed and forget to water it. If we want our goals to thrive, we need to nourish them too.

We do that by writing them down, picturing them clearly, and choosing to stay positive—even when it’s hard. When doubt creeps in, or when others question our dreams, we must protect our seedlings. Don’t yank them out too soon. Don’t assume they’ve failed just because they haven’t bloomed yet.

Just because your goal hasn’t arrived “on time” doesn’t mean it’s not on its way. When a woman goes past her due date, she’s not less pregnant. If anything, she’s closer than ever. That baby is definitely coming.

It’s the same with your dreams. If your goal is even half as precious to you as my children are to me, trust me—you’ll see the harvest in time.

It is the Law.

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