How beautiful is an expectant mother? The glow of pregnancy shone brightly as some new moms-to-be were part of a special photo shoot.
Women who live in the maternity home House of Mary near Livingston, Texas, were among those honored with a photographic memory to remember their pregnancy. These ladies were part of the Embrace Grace program at First Assembly of God Church in Livingston.
Embrace Grace is a 12-week program that allows single and pregnant women to experience the love of God through a study on such topics as forgiveness and breaking negative cycles in their lives.
Katherine Emerson is one of the three leaders of the Embrace Grace program.
Emerson said co-leader Marissa Taylor shared the ministry’s impact with her sister, photographer Faith Reed. Reed immediately offered to bless the women with a photo shoot that would help them rejoice over their expectant bundle and all that they have overcome through Embrace Grace.
“This semester we had four girls in our group,” Emerson said, “and one of them was pregnant with twins!”
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She added that two of those women were residents at the House of Mary. Both of those women have delivered their babies since the photo shoot in early November. The remaining women, both teenagers, were due with their babies at a later time.
Emerson described the entire experience as “beautiful.”
“It’s so interesting,” she said, “When you are in a support group like this you find that the first few weeks the ladies are so reserved. By weeks four and five they have opened up and are more expressive.”
The women had been in the study for several weeks when they had the photo shoot.
“They were so excited to be there,” Emerson said.
The shoot took place on the back property of First Baptist Church of Livingston, the church being the host church for House of Mary Maternity Home.
The ladies arrived at the location glistening and “all dolled up.” Emerson said.
“They were looking gorgeous,” she said.
House of Mary shared a photo from the shoot on its Facebook page.
The relationships that have grown among the students and leaders have also been lovely, Emerson said. The day of the shoot one of the participants had a concern about her pregnancy and the women immediately gathered around her for prayer.
Emerson said this is the beauty of Embrace Grace. The national program began in 2008 by Amy Ford who was inspired to encouraged women in unplanned pregnancies. To date, more than 1,100 locations are hosting the curriculum in all 50 states, and 18,500 women and men have benefited.
Besides the Biblically based curriculum, the participants also receive a baby shower and Love Boxes that include a onesie that says, “Best Gift Ever,” and a book of hope and healing authored by Amy Ford.
Emerson started the Livingston, Texas, chapter after praying for a way to support pregnant women who were scared about their futures.
She said her mom had volunteered at pregnancy centers for years, but Emerson’s full-time job made it difficult for her to do the same. Still, she said, her heart yearned to provide hope. When her pastor approached her with the concept of Embrace Grace, she said she gave an enthusiastic “yes!” without hesitation.
Emerson said the local pregnancy center in her area, Grace Pregnancy Outreach, has referred many women to Embrace Grace.
“They are the best,” she said of the pregnancy centers. “They are such a huge help to us.”
The photo shoot was a full circle moment for the chapter’s Embrace Grace team.
Standing back and seeing women who may have felt hopeless weeks prior, now standing proudly, embracing their wombs full of joy – caused the leaders to smile.
Tweet This: A photo shoot with pregnant moms was joy-filled with lots of laughter, excitement, and love for their babies.
“Honestly it was a very joy-filled moment with the girls,” Emerson said. “Lots of laughter! You could feel their excitement and love for their babies!”
