When the disciples saw Jesus hanging on the cross, I wonder if they too were caught up in blind hopelessness—never envisioning that one day they would look up at a cross to see their Messiah as he breathed his last breath, never dreaming that the life they had come to know would be gone instantly and daily life forever altered. What did it feel like Saturday to wake up to an otherwise normal day only to realize that their new reality [Jesus’ death] hadn’t gone away? What sense of confusion intermixed with joy came Sunday upon the sight of Jesus living again?

In Christ’s death and resurrection, we witness both vulnerability and strength, and we see in full display God’s radical love giving an answer to what would otherwise be an impossible situation in mankind. The death and resurrection of Christ was an answer only God, both just and loving, could offer. When we encounter what feels like, and by all appearances may seem like, hopeless situations, we press into and declare the truth that the God of resurrection hope is still at work today – bringing hope, feeling, restoration, and new life in the most “dead” circumstances. God is still in the business of helping our clients through situations when they are caught squarely between “I don’t want to have an abortion” and “I don’t want to have a kid”.

As we all adjust to the changes this Pandemic has brought upon us and you feel, like David (story below), that you are stuck between options that feel overwhelmingly impossible, reach up to God and reach over to His Body. The resurrected King is in the business of resurrecting. God is making all things new.

DAVID

“I don’t want to have an abortion!” “David” stated as he paced the client room after viewing his girlfriend’s ultrasound.  After a deep sigh, he continued emphatically, “I don’t want to have a kid!”

Two separate statements, both complete in their decisiveness.  In there lies the problem. Two conflicting sentiments, neither of which appears as a viable option to our clients in the present moment of a crisis.  Yet this is the situation that they are faced with in the realization that life has already begun. This is what David was confronted with internally when he laid eyes on his child for the first time.  David was candid during our conversation. He shared that he had “flip-flopped” about their decision every day of the previous week. He explained that they were not ready to have a child—they were finishing college, they were not financially stable, and they were too young.  He was afraid that having a child now would “crush” their dreams of pursuing careers. But he conveyed he had a “moral conflict” with abortion and was aware of the possible negative impact on their relationship and was afraid that choosing abortion would leave a “void” in his life that he would always regret.

Very few of our clients can communicate the internal conflict the way that David was able to when we met, but most of our clients are confronted with this very dilemma.  They have found themselves in a situation in which they did not want to be. Facing a decision that they do not want to make—a decision that will have a forever impact. Which one wins out?  In most cases it is the sentiment that receives the most support. Whether that support is internal or external. As client advocates, we have the privilege of helping clients identify the supports they already have and revealing to them the supports available that they were unaware of previously.  In David’s case, the ultrasound that he witnessed, combined with the information and encouragement that he received from Assurance, helped affirm his commitment to life. “We pretty much knew we were going to continue the pregnancy once we left the office,” was his response to a follow-up call that was made a few days later.  Equipped with a little more information and courage, they approached their parents with the news of the pregnancy. The reaction was not nearly as harsh as they had anticipated. They also received a positive response from their academic advisers.

Most of our clients don’t want to have an abortion.  And many of our clients are unaware of the support that they truly have.  Thank God that he leads them to Assurance, and we can lead them back to his truth.
Introduction by Keturah Johnson, Client Services Director
and David’s story shared by Aaron Bullock, Men’s Program Coordinator.