After a long two weeks of sparse appointments
and after one of our three yearly fundraisers, February 25th came
upon us. The appointments were booked, but, unfortunately, that doesn’t always translate into
girls arriving to claim those appointments. Today, we did have some empty time
slots, but God had a purpose today that shone beyond numbers. Today, God
Himself personally called His creation by name to come to Him.
The
first appointment brought a couple in their upper twenties to counseling room
1. Though unmarried, they had been dating for over 10 years and already bore a
young daughter. They both wanted a second child together, so this possible pregnancy
was not unplanned, nor was it a crisis. This unborn
baby would be entirely wanted and so very much loved! The client
smiled to her boyfriend as they discovered the distinct two lines on the
test. They were positive! They received the gift they desperately desired, but
the client advocate asked one more question:
“Do you know if you’re
going to Heaven?”
The
young woman quietly uttered a response full of doubt. Her boyfriend, though,
looked to the client advocate and spoke his answer. He verbalized the too
commonly believed lie that traps our 2013 society across the world. He looked
into her eyes, and said,
“I hope I’ve been good enough to get
into Heaven.”
Unafraid
and unsurprised by this response, our volunteer opened her heart and shared the
Gospel with this young couple. She explained the God of love, the God who
pursued mankind for centuries, and the God who damned His own Son to suffer our
death toll JUST so a relationship with us could be an option to choose! She
told them Heaven is reachable, but only through Jesus Christ. Christianity is
not a set of rules or a distant hope that we might enter into Heaven one day.
Christianity is an attainable, sustainable relationship with the God who
crafted their very beings.
Without
looking at each other once, the couple listened intently to the message of
Jesus, absorbing every single word. All of it, each detail made sense. With
utmost sincerity, both the newly pregnant woman and her boyfriend accepted
Christ to be their Savior! They prayed with our client advocate, and began
their new relationships with their Creator!
While
this appointment was closing, another client entered counseling room 2 with our
second client advocate. She was a 9th grade student, skipping school
to take her first pregnancy test. She denied the possibility to herself for
weeks, but she couldn’t avoid the truth any longer. Her boyfriend was just
sixteen. Both had three and half years left of high school. The teen unloaded
her story, revealing her attempted suicide just one year previous. And now a
baby? Surely not. After the 4 minute wait, however, the pregnancy test read
positive.
The
client advocate talked through the definite reality with the young girl. In
their conversation, the volunteer walked her from a place of indecision
about moving forward to choosing to parent the unborn baby! The teen realized the
support surrounding her! She chose life for her baby! The client advocate,
however, asked one more question:
“Do you know if you’re
going to Heaven?”
In complete calmness,
she answered, “I don’t think that I will.”
Feeling
the presence of God Almighty in the room, our client advocate shared God’s
heart. She told this young girl about a real God who created her on purpose and
for a purpose. He loved her to such an unimaginable extent that He rejected His
Son, so she would never have to feel His rejection again. He notices her. He
plans for her. He wants her! Again, the
Gospel of Jesus Christ filled the air and reached deep into this listening
heart. After the honest explanation of her loving King and Shepherd, this 9th
grade girl prayed and accepted Christ into her life!
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For it is by
believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by
confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
It’s
not about how many appointments are made in the book. It’s not about how many
girls actually show up. It’s not about tallying up any numbers to impress an on
looking community. It’s about these lost hearts hearing for the first time their
compassionate Savior call their name. It’s about the softened souls reaching
out for the outstretched arms that have always been open.
It always has been
and always will continue to be about Jesus.
Donations
are still pouring into the office, so a total count is not yet final.
Regardless of the tally, God honored Community Pregnancy Center last Saturday!
He gave us a clear morning, plenty of food, a smooth registration period, and
over twice as many people as last year! That means that twice the people heard
about our ministry here, twice the people saw God’s heart for the scared woman
and her unborn baby, and twice the people now realize the importance of
supporting LIFE!