Refreshing Grace

On Monday, I had the opportunity to counsel two clients, both of which were genuinely pleasant encounters. The first woman had a negative pregnancy test. However, we still had the opportunity to talk about options for any future pregnancies. I go to inform her of some of the health consequences of abortions, which she had been completely unaware of, and she left significantly more pro-life than when she had arrived. Even the fact that having an abortion can increase your chances for miscarriages was shocking to her and prohibitive. The second woman was a very hesitant young woman, in her mid-twenties. She had a positive test that visibly upset her. She had decided with her boyfriend previously that she could not keep a child at this point in time. However, she had never had an abortion before, and I could tell she didn’t want to. She was scarred, and was open with me about her fear. There was a real relationship of trust, which was very rewarding to experience. The women rarely sense- or maybe just refuse to believe- how much we as counselors really care about them, and what we would sacrifice for them. But this woman really seemed to understand, which was profoundly refreshing. We talked about carrying her child to term and about adoption options. I also got to reassure her that her wariness of abortion was not unfounded- that there can be very serious health consequences to the procedure that she should be aware of. We spoke on the phone later that day to schedule an ultrasound. Days like this are a particular blessing from Christ. He knew that as a counselor, I needed refreshment and hope. He knows what each of his children need. Sometimes I need to be the recipient of that grace, and sometimes I get to be the vessel in which it poured out upon another beloved child. As always, please keep us in your prayers, we desperately need them!

In Christ,

Jennifer

(Training with internationally renowned expert sidewalk counselor Sister Dorothy later in the week).