As an intern at Lifeline, I get a view into each of the services this ministry provides. It’s a treat when one of the nurse’s journeys down the hall to ask, “Hey Kath, do you want to sit in on an ultrasound today?” I always answer affirmatively. Never would I miss the chance to experience someone seeing their baby for the first time.
Today a new client came in for a pregnancy test after finding out about Lifeline through our client website. After the test read “positive,” she asked if she could have an ultrasound. Once again I got to be a witness for the nurse, and see this woman understand more and more the reality of her motherhood.
“It’s not great timing,” she said. She wouldn’t be the first pregnant woman to utter it. And who can blame her? When is it great timing for your entire world to unexpectedly be shaken in a way it never has been before? She had just moved from across the country to Kirksville. Living far away from all that you’ve ever known is certainly enough change for one person at one time. I don’t know the level of fear she knew this morning.
But I do know this: after the ultrasound was over, after she had seen the gummy-bear-size baby on the screen, and after she asked all the questions I’m sure plagued her mind she said, “Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I feel a lot better after coming here.”
The woman I saw leaving the clinic was calm, excited, and confident. She was right; in human standards, this isn’t great timing. But in the eyes of God, what better time than this for His love to be shown? This new mother came away from Lifeline with answers and a newly-quieted heart.
She moves into a new town, finds out she’s pregnant, and stumbles upon a clinic devoted to serving women like her with the love of Christ…
Seems like great timing to me.
By Kathryn Farmer