Today's the day!

"I'm going to throw it away" she said. She looked scared, confused, uncertain of what was happening.

I looked at her quite puzzled. Again, she pointed to her stomach and said "I'm going to throw it away." Instantly, I understood. She thought she was pregnant. My heart sank.

She's 17 years old with a 6 month old baby. She doesn't have the support of a family; the only real family she has now are the girls from the brothel. She said whatever it took, she wasn't going to have this child. We asked her to come today to confirm the pregnancy.

I have no idea what the past 24 hours must have felt like for her. So much fear, uncertainty, confusion, pain. I can't even begin to understand. We were supposed to meet at 8 this morning. It came and went but no sign of her. Once it got to noon, I assumed she wasn't coming and feared the worst. But then, she showed up. Although the lab tech was finished working, she graciously agreed to take the few minutes to do the test.

In those following few minutes, I was so thankful that God interceded. I didn't know the words to say. I don't even know what she must have been feeling or thinking. As she handed the test over to the tech, she started bawling. She kept saying "I'm so scared, my heart hurts."

Instead of interrogating her or lecturing her, my coworker sat her down and spent those minutes encouraging her. She spoke truth into her life; she told her that she had value. She told her that regardless of the test results, God could and would work through this. She spoke of God's provision in her own life.

Those few minutes seemed like an eternity. We all knew the test was finished and just wanted to know the answer. Instead of rushing to see, my friend said let's pray and thank God regardless of what happens. Thankfully, my sweet friend doesn't have to make such a decision. Thankfully, she left feeling encouraged and loved.