A client who spoke very little English came in for a pregnancy test. Distraught over the positive test results, she was unsure of what she would do next. I tried to talk with her about all of her options but the language and cultural barrier made for a very long, difficult session.
Hopelessness was communicated very clearly. She was stuck. She wanted so badly to be a mother but couldn’t do it by herself. She kept telling me “In America, it is okay for a woman to have a baby alone but in my country it is not.” She went back and forth between having an abortion and parenting. She eventually agreed to make an ultrasound appointment for two weeks later with the promise of a translator. She left that day scared and hopeless but planning to return for her ultrasound. When she left, I went into my director’s office and cried. I was so broken over the hopelessness she was experiencing. There was nothing more I could do to change her situation.
Two weeks later she returned. During the ultrasound, we got a see a beautiful 9-week baby dancing all around! She was all smiles and by the end of the appointment decided to keep the baby. We were happy and took it as a win!
Three months later, I received a call from this client telling me she needed to abort because the father would not marry her and she had an appointment for that Saturday. By now, she was 24 weeks. Heartbroken, I spent a significant amount of time on the phone trying to talk through and understand what was going on, but to no avail. With great sadness, I closed out the case as aborted, said one last prayer and moved forward, still trusting that somehow God was taking care of her. In December, a week before Christmas, she and the father, now her husband, stopped by the clinic with their brand new baby! We shared a long tearful embrace. She let me hold that perfect and beautiful baby boy while she told me all about his birth and her family. I spent the rest of the day in complete awe of the goodness of God. When she left my clinic the first time, I was broken by the hopelessness. I did all I could but it wasn’t enough. I prayed and God told me not to worry — that He has her in His in hands. I wasn’t sure what that would look like, but I was comforted by His words and trusted His goodness. I was marked that day by His faithfulness.
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