an unwed mother
Imagine this scene. Joseph leading a donkey-drawn carriage towards Bethlehem. Inside that carriage sits his pregnant wife, Mary. She was found to be pregnant before they had consummated their marriage! This would be the scandal of the town. Imagine the gossip and stares. Surely she was a promiscuous woman. And both of them are guilty of premarital sex!
hope deferred
As any couple trying to have a child knows, every 28 days you’re looking for signs of success. For many couples, this expectation is met with disappointment for a few months until conception occurs. But for others, this monthly cycle of raised and dashed hopes can last for years. Proverbs 13:12 describes such an experience well: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
the sustaining Word
Nine weeks into my first pregnancy, I started bleeding. The fear of losing our baby gripped my heart so tightly that I could barely breathe. That night, as I frantically searched the Scriptures to find some comfort, I opened my Bible to Genesis 26:24 (MSG): “That very night God appeared to him and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; don’t fear a thing because I’m with you. I’ll bless you and make your children flourish.” These few words calmed my panicked heart, and I slept peacefully.
rescued
One of the young women in my Bible study group shared with me that an acquaintance of hers had just found out she was pregnant from a one night stand. The pregnant woman had scheduled an appointment for an imminent abortion. I had no qualms about immediately shortening our bible study to spend extra time in prayer. Explaining the need…
teenage pregnancy
If your teenage daughter or your fiancé told you she was pregnant but was still a virgin, would you believe her? For when a single person becomes pregnant, the evidence of sexually immoral conduct is highly probable. That’s because, beyond medically engineered fertilization, it’s impossible to get pregnant without sexual contact. There’s no other acceptable or reasonable explanation— unless, of…
false strongholds
Four-months pregnant with our second child, I was surprised one day when a co-worker unexpectedly shared that she had experienced a miscarriage years prior at the 4-month mark. Pregnancy is a walk of faith in itself, but her words sent what ifs racing through my mind faster than my surging hormones. God, however, was not taken by surprise. A few…
unplanned
At 17, she was in the midst of a brief season of rebellion. One night, instead of staying at a friend’s house, as she had told her parents, she went to a party thrown by a guy in his twenties. Although drinking and drug use took place, she abstained and eventually fell asleep. Later, she awoke to find herself being…
