Circumstances

Sarah loved her boyfriend Sam. He said he loved her.

One night in Sarah’s dorm room, they snuggled on the couch watching a romantic movie. Their love ignited and they let their passions guide their actions. Soon after that night, Sarah noticed that Sam seemed to be less attentive. No more cozy movie nights on the couch, unless, of course, it included an opportunity to show her how much he loved her, physically. Then before you know it, Sam stopped calling. Sarah was almost relieved. But then, the unexpected happened…nausea. Oh no. The blue cross told her what she dreaded.

She faced Sam with the news and his anger flared. He yelled at her to take care of it. “What does that mean?” she asked. “Take a guess,” he said. She didn’t have to guess, she knew. Abortion. She knew that was the only answer. With no support, no money, no insurance, no resources, not to mention all the plans for her life—ruined. The only obvious answer was to ‘take care of it.’ And anyway, it was just a blob of tissue at this point.

As she agonized over her situation, she thought back to when her married sister was pregnant. She glowed with joy in her pregnancy (except for the barfing early on!). Everyone was so happy, including Sarah–expecting that little bundle of joy, that precious little baby. And when the baby came, she loved her niece from the moment the wrinkled little munchkin cried out her first “Hellooo!”

Sarah didn’t know how to reconcile this inconsistency. How did it make sense that when the circumstances are difficult, and seemingly insurmountable, somehow the little bundle of joy is now a ‘future-threatening blob of tissue’ that needs to be destroyed?

It didn’t sit well with her. And besides, in her heart, she knew, she absolutely knew, she was a mom. How could she reconcile the inconsistency of these scenarios: A mom leaping for joy when she was told she was six weeks pregnant versus a mom sad and sullen when she was at the same point in her pregnancy. It boiled down to nothing more than–circumstances.

She asked herself—Can I deny that I have a baby growing inside of me just because this baby is unplanned? Am I going to allow my circumstances to dictate whether my baby is going to live or die?  

The circumstances are real and foreboding and scary, yet she knew there could be joy in the difficulties. Love can make things sweeter. She felt it every time she gazed upon the pink, innocent face of her beautiful baby niece. And she realized, circumstances can change…but that kind of love won’t.