It was May 1997 and I was feeling alone & confused. I had just told my boyfriend I was pregnant and he replied that he wasn’t ready to have a child. He wanted me to get an abortion.
I will be the first to admit this was not an ideal situation for me. I was already a single parent, on welfare, had no means of transportation . . . and pregnant again. I personally do not believe in abortion, so my only option was to convince my boyfriend to be happy about the pregnancy and support me through it. That is when I called Advice & Aid.
The director there was so helpful. She allowed me to borrow a video about what an abortion truly is so that I could show my boyfriend what he was asking me to do. While watching the video he didn’t show much emotion. I knew he was not going to change his mind.
Advice & Aid became my main source of support. They helped me get to my appointments, let me go through their closet to get diapers & clothes, and threw a baby shower for me at the clinic. One time, a man donated his vehicle to Advice & Aid and they gave it to me so that I could get back on my feet. The man who donated the car was there the day I receive the keys. He said that if it wasn’t for people like me who choose to give life to their child, he would not have been a father, because his children were adopted.
God has made His presence known through Advice & Aid. I not only got physical help through the resources available, but I also made a great friend in the director. I will forever call her my angel on earth. She never took personal credit for anything; it was made clear to me that donations are what makes it possible for Advice & Aid to help women.
This story, that began with confusion and hurt, actually isn’t over yet. When our friend was in the midst of daily handling the circumstances that came with her choice of giving life, she couldn’t have seen ahead, 20 years into the future of what this baby boy would become. But today, we can see exactly what her choice has brought about.
That baby boy – the one who was on the verge of never getting the chance of life before he drew his first breath – has grown up to be a young man who values right and wrong. He has grown up with a strong sense of protecting others and a willingness to put himself in harm’s way to fight for our freedoms. That baby boy – who might not have been born, except for the brave choice of his mother – is now a Lance Corporal in the United States Marines and is currently serving overseas. He is someone you need to meet.
It can be hard to think ahead when you are in the middle of the unplanned. Most often, you simply want it to go away. But we encourage you to stop, get the facts, and take a moment to look ahead. What might be the easy choice today might not be the right choice for your future. You truly are braver than you know – you just need someone to walk alongside of you. And that’s exactly what we can do!
