Monday, February 25, 2013

The "One More Question" Story

             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.