Retirement

I've been spending a great deal of my time since I "retired" from my 9-5 job at the local pregnancy resource clinic. I love being surrounded by lots of other pregnant women! Our local clinic offers hope and support to women making decisions about unplanned pregnancies. The counselors remind them that God loves them and that He has a plan for their lives. They remind clients that God loves their unborn babies, too, and that He has plans for their little lives. They assure them that they are strong and that they can handle the decisions they are making. They help women build a support network, offer a way out of abusive relationships, and continually remind the women that their lives and their babies' lives have value.

For the women who decide to parent, the clinic offers parenting classes and resources. I am one of the teachers. :) I work one on one with a client as we go through a lesson on prenatal care, infant care, raising toddlers, financial literacy, etc. Most of the women are very interested in learning the material, a few are just there to earn their mommy dollars that they can spend in the store.

But what I find over and over is that our clients come from broken homes. I haven't had a client yet whose parents are still married. Many were born to single mothers, raised by their grandmother, have no father in the picture. By going through the classes, many of our clients are trying to break that cycle. They want to finish school and get a job and be a good mommy, they just don't know how. No one ever showed them.

I'm honored to be playing a small role in this bigger picture of offering genuine hope to the women who come through our clinic's doors.