“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20
Levi wanted Carmen to have an abortion. Not next month, not next week, but today. He was so determined to make sure Carmen had the abortion done as quickly as possible, that he took the day off work to arrange it. As he researched online, advertisements for Care Net’s First Care Clinic came up. He made her an appointment and then left. “I’m not having anything to do with this baby and I’m moving out,” Levi told her.
Like all women facing a difficult pregnancy decision, Carmen didn’t want an abortion. But she couldn’t see a way forward. Her boyfriend had been the sole breadwinner, and she had another child to care for. How would she find a job quickly? How would she pay the rent due in just a few days? These problems seemed overwhelming and insurmountable.
But her visit to First Care Clinic gave her hope. Here, she was told the choice was hers – and hers alone to make. If she didn’t want to have an abortion, she could get help and find support. She could apply for financial assistance from our benevolence fund, and we pointed her toward additional community resources that would help her.
Carmen heard a very different message from Levi, “No one is going to help you, and I’m not giving you any money. You will be alone, you will raise the child alone, and no one will help you with anything.”
Carmen visited us several times. Each time she came to the clinic, we would discuss the situation more, help her problem-solve, and make a plan to move forward. And each time she left, she still said she didn’t know what she would do. Abortion was still in the frame. Because on the surface, it looked like it might erase all the trouble and pain. Yet inside, Carmen kept thinking about the ultrasound and the images she saw. A head, hands- and feet. A beating heart. All the makings of a child. Her child.
Finally, Carmen made the final decision. “I can see that there are lots of people who want to help me, and there are other options besides abortion. I’m going to keep my baby.”
The boyfriend might have intended evil for his unborn child, but God had other plans. He rescued this child and mother from the heartbreak of abortion, and only God knows how many generations will be transformed because Levi found First Care Clinic while searching for an abortion. Thank you for making that possible!