An Unexpected Way

By Keturah Johnson, Client Services Associate

“There’s just no way I can have this baby!”

She was scared. Confused. She admitted she was so overwhelmed she didn’t even know what she was thinking or feeling. Words were few, and she struggled to process what was going on internally.

“Andrea” was a sophomore in high school. She had great hopes for her future, and she knew her parents had high expectations that she would finish high school and go to college long before she ever had a child. Andrea would start to hesitantly say how she knew there were ways she could make it work to keep her baby, but her voice kept trailing off as she stared into space and continued to repeat the phrase, “There’s just no way.”

Andrea was in shock. She had just found out hours before coming to our office that she was pregnant. Another clinic had referred her to us and told her to come get an ultrasound to find out how far along she was. That clinic planned to help Andrea get an abortion and even told her they had a source to help pay for it. Andrea was clear in her plan when she came to Assurance – get an ultrasound, leave Assurance, and then go schedule her abortion with the other clinic as soon as possible. But we knew that God could change her mind about those plans, and we were grateful for the opportunity to serve her.

We sat down, and at first, the conversation was slow. Her eyes were wide, and she was adamant that there was just no way she could have a baby right now. What ultimately came out in our conversation was that she was desperately afraid of disappointing her parents. We talked about her options, about her thoughts and feelings about abortion, adoption, and parenting. I could sense a spiritual tug of war at play in the room. She would start to breathe and verbalize, “Well, maybe I could…”  Then, you could see the fear crash down with force as Satan continued to whisper shame and doubt into her. After our initial conversation, the client was still very set on abortion but cried as she said it. She said, “I don’t want to have an abortion…I just can’t have this baby!”

As the nurse, Andrea, and I were in the ultrasound room, other staff members continued to pray—praying that the sight of her baby would awaken in her a strength and courage that she didn’t even know that she had. Andrea thought she might be 8 or 9 weeks along, but as the nurse gently slid the probe over Andrea’s stomach, we saw quickly that she was much further along—in fact, she was over 21 weeks into her pregnancy.

Andrea, her boyfriend, and I all gathered in a client meeting room following her ultrasound. They both were quiet, tears in their eyes. Neither of them could talk much, as they both stated they were just too overwhelmed. I told them we would call to follow up within the next few days and offered to have them return to continue the conversation. My initial follow-up attempts were not fruitful, and I prayed that the client would eventually return my calls. A few weeks later, she did. She shared that they had decided to keep the baby and that, though disappointed, their parents were supportive and encouraging. The conversation was brief, but as she spoke, the weight in her voice was gone. She thanked Assurance for the support they had received and stated she knew now that she could make it. There was a way where once she didn’t see one.