Hope for a Brave Young Woman

She had such a sweet spirit about her. She was from Africa and had no family here with her. She was a student at one of the local colleges and was about to graduate. She came to the center with an untimely pregnancy and her boyfriend told her to abort the baby. She couldn't even consider the idea so she did a very brave thing...she broke up with her boyfriend and came to see her baby via ultrasound.

The ultrasound showed an 11 week old baby full of movement and a strong heartbeat. The young girl's countenance beamed like the sun.

Not many young women can do such a brave thing as that. Many are too insecure and frightened to stand strong under that kind of pressure. But this girl did. She said that she could never consider an abortion because "it would be like murder." And she told me that she could "never live with that haunting her all her life." Wow, this girl knew exactly what abortion meant and she knew it involved taking a huge emotional risk that could stay with her for the rest of her life. I told her that she was thinking very clearly and that I thought she was very strong. I told her that her courageous spirit would be an asset in her role as a young single mother. I also told her that she did not have to stand alone. Jesus Christ would stand with her and help her on this journey.

Our conversation continued and became quite interesting. She said she did not want to just embrace the "religion" of Christianity. She liked all the religions. She said she had many kinds of friends of different faiths and that she considered herself a "spiritualist." Hmm...maybe she was a little too brave. Maybe she was a little too strong and independent.

I asked her to consider something that Jesus once said. I told her that He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father but through Me." I encouraged her to be brave enough to ask Jesus to reveal to her what He meant by that. I told her that I believed since she was a "spiritualist" that she was therefore a seeker and a seeker of truth. I told her that not all religions were equal, nor did they all lead to the same destination. I encouraged her to think about what Jesus said. She said that she would. I asked her if I could pray for her and she reached out to take my hands in hers. I took hold of her hands and prayed that this young woman would be brave enough to take hold of Christ and His Words.

She is coming back for parenting classes and until then I will pray for this girl to be brave enough to see her great need for a Savior. His name is Jesus and as a single mom, she will need Him more than she can possibly imagine.