My whole body went numb and I was shaking. A positive test.  How could this be? Is God punishing me? Will my boyfriend, Andres, stick by my side? How will God bless a baby conceived this way?

 I had prayed for a negative test.  A miscarriage.  Anything.  I did not want this baby.  Not before marriage. Not now. I had just left full-time employment to focus on starting my master’s degree. My parents were both in ministry and would be devastated. I had no idea what to do.

But I felt surrounded by love and truth.  Two women from Life Centers were at my side, showing me with great kindness the size of my four-week-old baby. They spoke clearly and gently about the Gospel – the Gospel I had embraced just a few years before – and how this baby was a gift. A gift from God (James 1:17) who was knit together in my womb so preciously and uniquely (Psalm 139).

I saw Jesus in these two women. I felt Him. Hearing God’s Word and feeling the love and acceptance at Life Centers made me confident that it would all be okay.  I left the center knowing God would provide.

Now, Andres and I are married and blessed daily by our beautiful daughter, Natalia. I’m a student a IUPUI preparing for the physician’s assistance program. We attend church regularly and are involved in a small group.  God has provided in every single way. 

I am so thankful for Life Centers. The staff and volunteers truly cared for me when I needed it most.

By the time God led me to Life Centers, I had already gone through quite a bit. More than once I had tried to have an abortion, but God sent circumstances to prevent me from making my abortion appointments.

When I found out I was too far along in my pregnancy to get an abortion locally, my boyfriend insisted that I begin to look for abortion options outside of Indiana. But I felt as though God was intervening, and He began to change my heart. I told my boyfriend I was thinking about keeping the baby, and he responded by leaving me.

As the pregnancy progressed, I needed to be hospitalized. Everyone was telling me to abort, but God was speaking to me as well. One day, I remembered that the Bible said something about God taking care of the birds, and that He said that we were more important to Him than the birds. At that moment, I decided to give it all to God.

After I was out of the hospital, I visited Life Centers. I was eight months pregnant and just needed some help. Becky (my counselor) and I prayed for a pack-n-play. In less than a day, I not only had a pack-n-play but many other items. Later, I even got a couch! Becky continued to stay connected with me and visited me when my daughter, Harper, was born.

I still talk to Becky often and we have become good friends. Life Centers holds a special place in my heart because God used it to bless me when I called upon Him.