How You Helped One Woman Rediscover Abundant Life in Christ!
Grace* grew up in the church. She’d always taken her faith very seriously and wouldn’t even go out with a boy unless he was a Christian. She’d even received a purity ring from her parents and pledged to not have sex until she was married. But everything fell apart when she visited her boyfriend, Keenan*, for a few days. She never meant for things to go so far… but they had.
A few weeks later, she woke up feeling sick to her stomach. At first she thought it was a stomach bug, but she kept feeling sick for days. All of a sudden it hit her. Could it be morning sickness?
She planted her face in her hands and sobbed.
She was a Christian. She’d known better. And yet here she was, wondering if she was pregnant, and she had no idea what to do next.
Grace suddenly remembered someone at church talking about a hotline people in her situation—Pregnancy Decision Line— could call to have candid and discreet conversations about their unplanned pregnancies. Finding the number online, she told the hotline coach everything.
The hotline coach asked about her religious beliefs and then reminded Grace that Jesus had come into the world to save sinners—people who had made a mess of their lives. That’s how Grace felt: a mess. But then the coach went a step further and assured her Jesus was not ashamed of her—that He’d gone to a cross for her and lived the life she never could because He loved her.
Grace realized that, even if she’d never slept with Keenan, she still wouldn’t have been righteous. Her salvation wasn’t based on her behavior, but about the perfect life Jesus had lived just for her.
God’s grace was no longer an abstract concept, but something she could embrace for herself.
Filled with the hope of the Gospel and the knowledge that people could help her no matter the outcome of her pregnancy test, Grace prayed for God to give her courage to walk forward, empowered by His forgiveness.
A few years ago, Care Net did a survey and discovered that two out of five mothers having an abortion were regularly attending church at the time of their abortion. There’s a good chance someone in your church has either had an abortion, or is thinking about getting one right now because of an unplanned pregnancy. But thanks to your generosity, you offer that scared mom a chance to make a decision that leads to abundant life. Through your support of Care Net, small groups in churches across the country are being equipped for vibrant pro-life ministry to serve as compassionate voices for life alongside our 1,200 affiliated pregnancy centers, and national hotline that have shared the Gospel over 2 million times since 2008.
Thank you for giving couples like Grace and Keenan a chance to walk in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and choose life for their unborn children and abundant life for their families.
