Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Today, I received a phone call from an old friend. I met her 3 years ago, when she came into where I worked, wanting a pregnancy test. She was just barely 16 years old and had already decided that if she was pregnant, she would have to have an abortion. She was taking drugs, smoked and drank alcohol, because that's what all of her friends did. Her mom was abusive, addicted to drugs and her dad was, for all practical purposes, out of the picture. She had only been with her boyfriend for less than 3 months, so she didn't know what kind of a future she could expect with him.

After verifying that she was pregnant, I sat down with her for a couple of hours to talk about her options, and the pros and cons of each one. She decided that her best choice, both for herself and for her baby, was so carry the pregnancy to term and potentially consider adoption. We found a maternity home where she could stay for the duration of the pregnancy, to reduce her risk of physical danger, as well as exposure to the drugs. She stopped drinking and smoking, so that her baby had a chance at a healthy future. She was excited about being a mom.

After being at the maternity home for about 5 weeks, she miscarried. She was devastated by the loss of her child, but her brief encounter with motherhood (and her acceptance of it) changed her life. She decided that she wanted to get graduate from high school (which she had previously been failing), get a college degree and make a difference in the lives of others who might be struggling like her. I was able to keep in contact with her for about a year, and then she fell out of my life.

So, now, 2 years later, she re-contacted me to meet for coffee. It was like a time warp for me, sitting across from this woman, who is now married (to the father of her baby), wondering if there actually might be a God (who loves and cares for her?), working her way through college and holding down a job in hopes of working her way into management. She has never gone back to the drugs ("what's the point?" she says... "They only bring ruin"). She still doesn't know what her future holds for her, but she seems excited to see what doors will open and to know that she has a future.

So, my friends, pray that I will have the boldness to explain to her about true hope (the hope of our salvation) as our lives re-connect and that she will discover the purpose and meaning of Life through a knowledge of the Creator.