Rick Santorum's wife said Thursday that although she was initially opposed to her husband's presidential campaign, she came around to the idea after realizing that "God had big plans for Rick."

In an interview with Glenn Beck, Karen Santorum spoke candidly about her initial reservations, stating that Santorum's unsuccessful reelection bid for his Senate seat in 2006 had made her hesitant to support a presidential run.

She told Beck on Thursday that it was the passage of President Obama's Affordable Care Act that made her change her mind.

"I did always feel in my heart that God had big plans for RIck," she said. "Eventually it was there, tugging at my heart. ... When Obamacare passed, that was it. That put the fire in my belly."

Karen Santorum has not been front and center in her husband's campaign as she cares for the couple's youngest child, Bella, who suffers from a genetic disorder. She said in the interview that her opposition to Obama's health care plan was largely due to her daughter's condition.

"This is why we're making the sacrifice we are as a family, to give all," she said. "Because I do believe that if President Obama is elected again, I do believe we're going to lose our nation as we know it. As a mother of 7, I'm really concerned about that."

Santorum believes her husband's recent rise in the polls is "God's will."

"I think [God] has us on a path," she told Beck. "I do think that there's a lot more happening than what we're seeing."

Faith has been a focal point in Santorum's campaign. The former Pennsylvania senator, who is a devout Catholic, has assailed Obama "oppressing religious freedom," and basing his presidential policies on a "different theology."

Santorum defended his comments on CBS' "Face the Nation," stating that he has never questioned the president's religion. "I am talking about his worldview or the way he approaches problems in this country and I think they're different than how most people do in America," he said.