A few years ago my friend Jennifer called me and right away, I could tell in her voice that something was wrong – very wrong. She choked out the words: “Sue is pregnant!” Sue, her 16 year old daughter in her senior year of high school, was pregnant! Jennifer had been divorced for seven years. After the divorce, her husband disappeared leaving her to raise two kids on her own.

Sue was an extraordinarily bright girl, consistently ranking at the top of her class. Jennifer had often confided in me that she had expected Sue would get a college scholarship and possibly attend medical school. Her dreams for Sue were now in jeopardy.

I was taken aback by the news and therefore at a loss for words. What does one say in a situation like this? All I could muster was a “wow!”

An understandably distraught Jennifer was going on and on, rambling and venting about the situation.

The following is a peek into our conversation and my attempt to help her see things from a Godly perspective.

Jennifer: “I don’t understand what she was thinking!! She got herself mixed up with this bum of a fellow and look what happened!!! I told her she just better go have an abortion!”

Hannah: “Jennifer, calm down, I know you’re upset but this is not the time to make rash decisions”

Jennifer retorted: “This is not a rash decision! She needs to have an abortion – this is going to ruin her life, plus she’s not working, so guess who’s going to end up having to feed another mouth and raise another child—–ME!!! And right now I can’t afford it! I’m already struggling to pay the bills and you know my situation at work is rocky at best. With all the layoffs going on, I could be next to lose my job— then what do I do!”

I considered Jennifer to be a rather devout Christian so her initial reaction for Sue to have an abortion was a big surprise to me. I assumed that abortion would not even be a consideration.

I tried by best to encourage Jennifer to make the right choice—-a choice she would not regret one day.

Hannah: “As Christians we should always try to do the right thing. If we don’t then aren’t we just paying Him lip service? Living a Christ centered life means putting Jesus at the center of every decision we make – and making the choices He would make – no matter how difficult the decision. Society wants us to believe that certain sins are okay and practical but the bible says that the unborn is a life (Psalm 139:13-16) therefore abortion is wrong.

Remember, God never promised us the easy road. In fact He said that the road to heaven is a narrow one (Matthew 7:14). If we are obedient to God’s laws and follow His path in our choices, He will bless us. God said He takes care of the birds in the air and how much more valuable are we than they (Matthew 6:24-26. It is a matter of trusting God and knowing that He always keeps His word.”

Jennifer was silent for a moment and I could tell she was wrestling with what I just told her.

Jennifer: “I never quite looked at it that way. You’ve given me a different perspective on the situation. I’ll just pray about it.”

Jennifer did pray about it—– and wrestled with it some more——and prayed about it again——and again. During that time, I was there for her, relentlessly encouraging her to do the right thing. Finally, she put her trust in God for the best in the situation and made the right choice.

In December of that year Sue had a beautiful baby boy. This year he turns 6 and is the apple of Jennifer’s eye!

“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” Mother Theresa

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The truth is…
Many may seek but few will find
Escaping the many, as she can’t be defined
Yet freeing the few, as she unlocks the door to a closed mind

The truth is…
She holds the key to life’s many mysteries yet is a mystery herself
For while she is costly, she is free
And those who have her, don’t know they do
While those who don’t, think they do
And those that don’t want her, deny her value

The truth is…
She is an object of objectivity
But a subject for subjectivity
And her hard judgment knows no impartiality

The truth is…
Freedom is her fruit
And confusion her worm
For peace abounds in those that rest in her

The truth is…
As brutal as the battles that are fought to defend her credibility
Her power can divide two friends that proclaim an opposing reality
And finding no common ground but one, that leads to a path of animosity

The truth is…
She is truth
An eternal spring with one source, but many offspring
Polluted over time and aimlessly wandering
And though we may dress her in many a disguise
She endures forever and knows no compromise

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