It was the worst Christmas Eve ever for the British soldier and his comrades.
Shivering in the muck and miserable cold, he crouched in a trench that was a mere three feet deep by three feet wide.
Days and nights for the men on the battlefield had become an endless cycle of fear-filled sleeplessness. The few biscuits the soldier had were stale; his cigarettes were too wet to use.
Life was bleak.
Suddenly, around 10 p.m., he heard voices across the field and saw shadowed figures moving about.
The German soldiers had begun singing Christmas carols.
Soon, the British soldiers began to sing back.
Remarkably, the enemy soldiers met each other halfway across the field to trade tobacco and wine, shake hands, and even play a makeshift soccer game.
For a few blessed hours on Christmas Eve in 1914, the deadly thunder of WW1 hushed in honor of the Prince of Peace—and good will came to earth in the most unlikely of places.
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These days, whether Christmas hymns are involved or not, everyone wants to get in on this special holiday.
Something about celebrating the birth of Christ seems to warm the hearts of people everywhere, no matter what faith they practice (or don’t).
I got to thinking about what makes Christmas unique—a time of year when, as Ebenezer Scrooge burst out merrily in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, “A cooked goose for everyone!” is the order of the day.
Christmas is a season when we expect to see generosity, kindness, cheer, good will and compassion among people more than we might at other times.
Of course, these practices are appropriate throughout the year—and pregnancy help centers excel at demonstrating them no matter what calendar month.
Here are five ways pregnancy help ministry demonstrates the “Christmas spirit” all year long.
1. We are generous.
Our services, such as lab quality pregnancy tests and early limited ultrasounds, are free of charge. So are the items we offer to expectant moms in our baby boutiques.
Unlike abortion providers, we do not profit financially from our clients.
2. We practice kindness.
Regardless of a client’s religious beliefs or social status, we treat her with the respect she deserves as an image-bearer of God.
But we don’t just practice graciousness with our clients; even when opponents make threats against us, we refuse to retaliate.
Instead, we pray for them.
3. We offer cheer to the downhearted.
Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be difficult and overwhelming. All year long, we hold out hope to those in despair who have trouble imagining a brighter future for themselves and their children.
Countless times, we have witnessed how hope changes everything.
4. We exercise good will toward people.
We understand that our clients often come from family lines through which poverty has been handed down for generations. This does not stop us from believing the best about our clients, or from believing that they are capable of healthy parenting and good choices.
We’ve seen too many success stories to believe otherwise.
5. We are motivated by compassion.
Our work reflects the heart of God toward the most vulnerable human population on the planet (and toward their parents). It is because of God’s love for us and for all people that we can reach out with compassion for others.
Rather than offering a short-sighted solution to “the problem” as abortion providers do, we build real relationships of trust and support with our clients—sometimes over the course of a lifetime. While abortion providers use the guise of empathy for women to create repeat business opportunities, our compassion is the real deal, not a disingenuous marketing ploy.
Tweet This: Those who work in pregnancy help are generous, practice kindness, offer cheer, exercise good will, and are motivated by compassion.
Generosity, graciousness and kindness, cheerful hope, good will and genuine compassion are a few of the ways pregnancy help ministry keeps Christmas all year long.
Tweet This: Pregnancy help reflects the heart of God toward the most vulnerable human population on the planet - and toward their parents.
As distressed women and couples come through our doors, fighting personal battles and surrounded by hostile circumstances, let’s continue offering moments of peace on earth and good will toward humanity—during this holy season and all year long.
