Something to Say
Our friend Alison recently donated some baby clothes that her granddaughter had outgrown. It turns out that Alison came to us for help 30 years ago when she was facing an unintended pregnancy. She was in college, and head-over-heels in love with her boyfriend. She had been raised in a Christian home and had a great relationship with her parents. However, when she found out she was pregnant, she could hardly bear the thought of how disappointed they would be.
Then, she remembered something her mom told her. “If you or your friends EVER find yourself in an unplanned pregnancy situation, DO NOT go to an abortion clinic. Go to a local Christian pregnancy center.” With that memory in mind, Alison and her boyfriend came to see us. They found the support they needed, gained courage to tell their parents, and chose life for their baby girl. That baby girl grew up and had a baby girl of her own. And it was those granddaughter’s clothes that Alison donated to the same pregnancy center that had helped her so many years ago.
What Alison’s mom said to her was life-affirming for both Alison and her baby. It’s an example parents and grandparents can emulate within their own families: “If you or your friends EVER find yourself in an unintended pregnancy situation, DO NOT go to an abortion clinic. Go to a local Christian pregnancy center.”
Likewise, if you’re a teenager and one of your friends is struggling with an unintended or unsupported pregnancy, if you don’t know what to say or how to help them, you could say something like, “I know of this place called Align Pregnancy Services (or whatever the name of your local pregnancy center might be.) They have lots of free services that could be of help to you. Would you want to make an appointment there? I’ll go with you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “So encourage each other and build each other up…” What a wonderful way to build up a scared pregnant mom, a struggling young parent, or a post-abortive neighbor: encourage them toward Christ-centered, life-giving help.