Candice* had already made up her mind that she was getting an abortion.
In Rockville Women’s Center’s exam room, she was clear:
“I need an abortion, and I need you to help me.”
Our nurse paused, made eye contact, and gently responded, “I hear you. We are here to help you.”
Candice’s health assessment was routine at first, but as she opened up, her outer shell of anger began to crack.
Through tears, Candice revealed the pain, loneliness, and fatigue she was battling every day. She shared how she was really struggling and completely overwhelmed as a single mom but trying to stay strong for her two young daughters.
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Our nurse encouraged Candice that she doesn’t have to walk this journey alone and asked if she had a relationship with Jesus.
Our advocate, translating, shared the gospel with a tearful Candice. She was tired of trying to do life all on her own, without knowing her ultimate provider and source of strength.
Right there, in the middle of her health assessment, Candice said she wanted to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior! She prayed with our advocate, and there was an immediate shift in the room.
In the ultrasound room, Candice learned that her pregnancy was much further along than she had thought.
She shared that she would have come to Rockville Women’s Center sooner (and was hoping to abort sooner) but hadn’t had the money.
After her ultrasound, Candice was still afraid and learning more about her options, but said, “I know I only have two months left, but should I still start taking prenatal vitamins?”
Candice came in overwhelmed, in despair, and struggling to handle it all, financially and emotionally.
When she left Rockville Women’s Center, she was smiling and full of hope.
Tweet This: Candice came into Rockville Women’s Center overwhelmed, in despair, and struggling. When she left she was smiling and full of hope.
Rockville Women’s Center was there to respond to all of Candice’s needs, physical, spiritual, and emotional, in a divine appointment orchestrated by the Lord.
We gave her vitamins and helped her get insurance. We connected her with a local pastor and church. And we are getting her rides for follow-up appointments, including another ultrasound.
Today, Candice is happily carrying her pregnancy and receiving prenatal care from a physician.
And when we checked in on her less than a week after she turned to Jesus, she said, “I can’t wait to come back and make sure my baby is doing okay. I know it’s going to be hard, but God is with me, and He will help me.”
Candice, her life, and her family’s life have been completely transformed through the real and tangible support she received from Rockville Women’s Center. And importantly, she is a new creation in Christ!
*A pseudonym
Editor’s note: Michelle Livingston is an RN and Nurse Sonographer at Rockville Women’s Center in Rockville, Md. This is a lightly edited adaptation of a message shared with Rockville Women’s Center supporters and is reprinted with permission.
