He stood there with his hands on his hips watching the water like a bird searching for a fish. The ocean was rough because of an impending storm and dark clouds gathered in the distance. He knew that the conditions weren’t great for splashing in the ocean, but we had just arrived and the kids were so excited. My husband was a watchdog, ready to move at the first sign of trouble, as our babies jumped over waves in the surf. I watched him as he watched them, and I thanked God for a man who loves and cares for his children like he should.
Not every Mama has the benefit of a husband or partner who helps care for their children. I visited the Pregnancy Resource Center in Carrollton last night for a tour. I believe in the work they do there and the support they offer young women in our community. It’s easy, especially here in the Bible belt, to be pro-life, but we often forget that it’s not just about being “anti-abortion”. There is a lot of life that happens after that baby is born that we need to be willing to support. You get through the pregnancy and have a baby, and then what? What are we doing as Christians to support life besides having hateful social media arguments? The women at the PRC have a wide variety of backgrounds, including a personal history of abortion, and it is obvious that God has brought them together. They offer a non-judgmental place of love and support for women who are pregnant and don’t know where to go next. They love them like Jesus does.
David and I tried to get pregnant for several years. I was 29 years old, had a great job, a loving and supportive husband, and a family who could not WAIT to get their hands on our baby, but the morning of my induction, I sat in my closet and cried. I was terrified of what was about to happen. I had delivered babies, had loved on babies my whole life, could not remember a time when I didn’t look forward to being a mother, and yet, here I was, crying my eyes out in a flat out panic about how my life was about to change. I cannot imagine the fear of being a teenage mother, or of becoming a mother while in an unhealthy or abusive relationship.
So I ask you, what are we doing to help support children, women, families in our communities? How are you loving the girl next door who is making unhealthy decisions or is in a bad situation? How are you actually supporting your beliefs? It’s not enough to just talk the talk. We are responsible for loving our neighbors. When we reach the pearly gates (or the turtle gates, as my little guy believes…another story for another day), we won’t be asked about our opinions on current political policy. We will be held accountable for how we loved one another, how we treated one another, how we helped and sacrificed for one another. Does the way you talk to and treat the young people in your life point them to Jesus? Will they come and talk to you when they make a mistake? Because they will mess up….we all do. Will they learn about grace and forgiveness and unconditional love from you?
I learned last night that 1 in 4 women have had an abortion, and of those women, 7 our of 10 are in church regularly. Let that soak in for a minute. Another interesting statistics is that if the father of a unplanned baby supports the pregnancy, whether or not he and the mother are together in any capacity, regardless of their relationship, she will choose life 9 out of 10 times. If he does not support the pregnancy, the opposite is true–she will choose an abortion 8 out of 10 times. The PRC offers parental support and parenting classes for both moms and dads. They are in dire need of men who are willing to donate their time to these young men who are scared to death because their girlfriend is pregnant–men who will tell them that fatherhood is the greatest thing you will ever do, that it will be OK, that a baby is a gift from God, and that it is OK to be scared because they were too.
I will close with one of my favorite Bible verses…”Mightier than the waves of the sea is His love for you.” (Psalm 93:4) As I watched David and my babies on the beach that day, I thought about that verse. It didn’t matter how big those waves got, his love for them would always be bigger. He may not be perfect, but he loves them and they know that. You don’t have to be a perfect father, your kids just need to know you love them. And the greatest way we can love any young person in our lives is to point them to the One who loves them more than anyone, unconditionally, no matter what.
To learn more about the Pregnancy Resource Center or how you can help, visit their website: https://www.pregnancyrc.com .
God bless, Allison Key, MD