Hope for a Future Generation--Part 1

As a pastor, it is my job to be involved in the lives of many different people with many different problems knowing that ultimately only God has the answers. There are bright spots and then there are some not so bright spots. I would like to share this bright spot with you. It deals with a then teen-age girl in our church that I've had the opportunity to watch grow over the years. I'll call her Lynn (Not her real name). Her story began 10 years ago at the age of seventeen.

After a time I interviewed Lynn just to see where her head was and to see how I might be able to be a help to her in this difficult situation. Although the circumstances surrounding her difficulty were not good, she chose to make the best of a very troublesome situation. My hat goes off to her.

"What's wrong?", Lynn's father asked as she sat sobbing on the front porch, head down, streaks of tears pouring down her face.

In a voice that spoke of fear and confusion she answered, Daddy, I'm pregnant."

As Lynn shared her shock with her father, she became one more statistic in the ever-growing number of children having children. But Lynn was an exception to the general acceptance that all teen-age pregnancies are disasters. In her situation, her unexpected pregnancy caused her to mature overnight and develop sound thinking about her concerns for her child and herself.

Admittedly, more often than not, teen-age pregnancies end in sorrow for both mother and child. Irresponsible fathers are the norm. Mothers often cannot cope with the added pressures complicating the parent-child relationship. Many times a lack of necessary knowledge of child rearing causes dysfunction within the new family.

What was behind Lynn's thinking? Is she being realistic? What does she expect? What can she expect?

Immediately upon finding out that she was pregnant through a home pregnancy test Lynn made an appointment with her family doctor to confirm the results. At that time she was referred to an OB-GYN for confirmation an care.

For at least a day after confirmation, if not longer, the pregnancy was something that would not register in Lynn's thinking. Her life would forever be changed, and that kind of a life change does not register quickly. But then, the period of denial passed,

With abortions taking place to the tune of one million plus a year, abortion was never an option for Lynn. Because of her personal belief that God and God alone has the right to take a life, she never thought of aborting her baby. Would she ever advise anyone to abort their child? "No, that's not their choice. It's God's," was her answer.

Lynn's belief in a personal God is evident in her day to day life, not just in panic situations liked unplanned teen-age pregnancies. She has tried and tested her personal faith to make sure it is a working faith. Even though the act that caused her pregnancy was wrong, she realized that God still forgave and wanted her to continue for her God. For Lynn, when the panic situations come, she can gain strength from her faith--not as a crutch, but as a real working solution to her problems.

Adoption could have been considered, but like abortion, Lynn discarded the idea as not being practical for her. She did not rule out the possibility that in some cases adoption might be the best alternative. "In certain situations adoption might be better for the child, especially in situations where the parents cannot take care of themselves...," she explained.

The potential for suffering, emotional insecurity, and lack of identity were also some of the reasons Lynn listed for her choice not to give her baby up for adoption. The same suffering could also affect the mother as well as the child.

My interview with Lynn will continue in the next hub--Part 2. She truly is an amazing young lady.