For digital creator Pearl Holdstock, November is a deeply sentimental month. Not only does she celebrate her birthday but she acknowledges her journey to motherhood and encourages other women struggling to conceive to never give up.
Bold, beautiful and purpose-driven, Pearl Holdstock is a woman who turns heads wherever she goes – and not just because of her colourful sense of style. Pearl is full of faith and joy. She’s vivacious, kind, laughs a lot and oozes confidence. As a business owner, law student, popular local social media content creator and mother to five very special children, Pearl leads a very busy life juggling her offspring, delving into the world of clinical psychology, promoting reputable local brands, connecting people and creating content that is designed to spark conversation, uplift, inspire and motivate.
“I started blogging well over a decade ago because of my struggle with conceiving. I suffered alone, a lot, without anyone to talk to. My close friends and family knew I was facing challenges, but they didn’t know the extent of it, and I couldn’t explain it without getting emotional, so I just kept the details to myself.”
For emotional support and transparency, Pearl depended on blog posts from other women who had or who were going through what she was at the time. Here, she felt completely comfortable to ask questions and share her grief with other courageous women.
Passionate about content creating and very intentional with the topics she talks about today, Pearl says her first-ever blog told the story of a woman desperate not to give up on the belief that she would one day carry and give birth to her own children. In the years that followed, she talked about her nine-year-long battle with infertility – the highs, lows, her health challenges, the pressure from society to have children, the effects it had on her marriage to her husband, Heino, and how faith played a divine role in the family unit they now are.
“I was in and out of hospital almost every month. I went through one failed fertility treatment after the other until my specialist suggested we take a break. ‘You can’t’ – two words to never tell a woman! This only made me more determined to prove that even though my body couldn’t, through faith, I was going to be a mother.”
If modern medicine wasn’t working, Pearl was going to find alternative remedies to help her body conceive naturally.
“I drastically changed my eating plan according to my blood type, and I changed what I used to say about my situation because our words determine our success or failure in life. I don’t remember the exact words I used to pray to God for children, but I remember reminding him of what is written in the book of Genesis – ‘be fruitful and multiply’ – and I started being really aggressive with my faith. I spoke life into my womb and started buying baby clothes and designing a nursery for the child who was not even conceived, let alone born.”
Pearl says that she changed her social circle, too, and surrounded herself with people who believed that she could be a mother. As crazy as she might have appeared to others, she had to confess what she wanted to see manifested and even started calling her unconceived child by his name. She called herself a mother and Heino a father and started to share with her faith-filled friends that they were about to have a son.
“They understood very well that it didn’t mean I was pregnant then. It meant I was speaking it to existence.”
The following Mother’s Day, Pearl gave birth to her miracle baby boy, Hanan, who is now six. Two years later, she gave birth to her daughter, Shekinah, now four. The couple have also taken Pearl’s 12-year-old niece, Amile, and nephews, Ayanda (20) and four-year-old Hlelo, under their wings after their mom died.
“We run a busy household full of incredible human beings. The sounds of happy chatter never fail to serve as inspiration when I’m sitting in my quiet space reflecting on life – my pain, my aspirations, how much I enjoy parenting – and sharing it with the world.”
From faith and clean eating to victory over infertility, some of the best products that helped her body prepare for pregnancy, parenting MOM-ents and values as a multicultural family raising bilingual kids, Pearl blogs about it all.
“The more we share, the more we learn, grow and can help support one another as we navigate life. My story is the reason I get up every day and create for an audience with joy, authenticity and passion. There is so much we can achieve by collectively using our influence to truly impact peoples’ lives.”
Currently a hot topic she’s engaging in is screen time. She says that because we live in a digital era, raising children comes with greater challenges than ever before.
“We are sharing intensely about the importance of actual books, playing outside and allowing our children to be creative and use their hands, something even I still love to do.”
Since November 23 marks Pearl’s birthday, she’s giving herself the whole month to celebrate. And in celebrating the woman she is today, she always acknowledges her journey to motherhood, which has shaped her existence. This month, through her ministry, Conquering Infertility Ministries, she shares her experiences.
“The thing I love most about what I do is knowing that I am within my purpose, doing what I am called to do. I would love to take a moment just to reach out to every beautiful and amazing woman out there who is waiting for a husband, a child, for healing, a family or a miracle. I salute you, I get you, I acknowledge your pain, I understand it. In fact, I feel it with you and for you. I have tremendous respect for you, and I am praying for you. Just know this is your story, and anything is possible.”
Details: Follow Pearl on TikTok: @umkamlunguomhlopheqwa, IG @umkamlunguomhlopheqwa or FB: @umkamlunguomhlopheqwa or visit her blogsite: @umkamlunguomhlopheqwa@wordpress.com
Pearl’s top tips on how to live a life of worth
- Find your purpose and be driven by it.
- Invest in yourself. Read and attend empowering workshops and seminars.
- Start with yourself! You can achieve more and help more people if you start thinking kind and uplifting thoughts about yourself.
- Use the time you have now to touch lives, do community work, volunteer at an NPO or NGO.
- Create meaningful connections with people and maintain your relationships through mutual respect, compassion and empowerment.
- Use your experience to share with those who may be going through something similar in their lives.
- Never walk into a room and feel inferior or superior.
- Experience gratitude for those you love, recognise their role in your life and let them know you see them, recognise them and value them.
- Start now creating a legacy for your children’s children. Be intentional about how you spend your money and how much money you spend.
- Ask yourself daily, ‘What will others remember about me? How many lives have I impacted just by being me?’ – and start now, living a life worth mentioning.
