With Child
A young mom of two came in for a pregnancy test. She was working full-time, had little support at home, and couldn’t fathom raising a third child. Abortion seemed like “a necessary evil” to her. She declined our services but gave us permission to follow up with her. When we did, we learned that she was still pregnant! She had discovered some medical issues with her pregnancy, and said “I am so GLAD I didn’t get an abortion. I could have hemorrhaged and died! My baby is doing wonderful, and I’ve come to realize I am happy to be a mom!” The Lord brought this mom to us in her time of crisis, and His mercy and truth helped her choose life for her baby.
In Matthew 1:18, there’s a phrase that especially caught my ear this Christmas season. It says that Mary was “found to be with child.” These days, we don’t hear people describe pregnant women that way, do we. But “with child” is such a beautifully true statement.
When a mother is pregnant, she is with child. There is a little child inside of her, with her, and she, the mother, is with that little developing child. There’s something comforting, something sacred… something God-designed about the “with-ness” of that coupling.
God dignified pregnancy when He said in Genesis 1:28 that mankind is to “be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.” He also dignified pregnancy when He sent His Son Jesus to earth to be born through Mary’s pregnancy. When we see a pregnant woman, whatever her circumstances may be, may we recognize the truth that she is with child, and may that point us to God’s good, kind design for all humanity, and to the Child He sent – His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins.