12 May Happy Mother’s Day to Julias everywhere . . .
After a dozen years, it still doesn’t get old. Every Mother’s Day, I am reminded of the women Lighthouse has supported to make brave choices – choices that have changed their lives and their children’s forever, for the better. I smile when I think of how their first courageous choices – which seemed nearly impossible at first – resulted in joy and more life-enhancing choices for themselves and those around them.
As Mother’s Day approaches, I am grateful that Lighthouse is able to offer free life-affirming support to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Some of our confidential services include pregnancy testing, medical confirmation of pregnancy, STD testing and relationship support for women like Julia. Here is the story of Julia’s pregnancy journey, shared with her permission:
Hi, my name is Julia. I came to Lighthouse in 2011 after googling free pregnancy test center sites.
Being an unemployed recent college graduate and newlywed, I was worried about how having a baby would burden me with responsibilities I wasn’t ready to handle. I thought this unplanned pregnancy would throw my plans for a foreign service career out the window and possibly keep me unemployed for several years.
I admit that I did consider abortion so I liked the fact that the Lighthouse website reached out to undecided, unprepared women like me and that it was free. When I finally made an appointment to get that free pregnancy test, I met Marissa, who provided me with the free resources available to not only test for pregnancy but also to care for the baby afterwards. My husband and I were amazed at how much easier and more possible giving birth became, just by knowing that an organization like Lighthouse was ready to support us every step of the way to delivery and even beyond childbirth.
How could we resist the love of God we received through Lighthouse? Lighthouse had given us our first picture of Brian taken at 6 weeks, and that was enough to cancel out any thought of abortion. My first visit was followed by phone calls from Marissa, who continued to care and provide me with resources that prepared me for childbirth. So then, my husband and I benefitted further from watching videos on the childbirth process and bringing home some items for Brian like baby clothes, toys and a washtub.
In this way, Lighthouse became an example to us and our parents of how Christian love builds families and communities. Please pray with us that like Lighthouse, we, too, will be able to touch and improve the lives of others around us. Thank you.
This Mother’s Day I am also thinking of and praying for another young woman named Julia. She bravely placed her son in the arms of a loving adoptive couple. She sacrificed much to give her son the life she believed he deserved. Placing her child into the waiting arms of an adoptive couple took a great deal of courage – no matter how much sense the decision made. May God fill her life – and yours – to overflowing with peace and love this Mother’s Day.