Who Cares...when I Have An Unplanned Pregnancy? Series

Now, as long as the pot is boiling in the stove, let me just dive right into it. Here is my suggestion. What people are looking for in the church is not near so much another place to re-hash the details of the mess they are in. A place to ponder their past. To once again feel all the guilt and shame because it just felt so good the first time. They are looking for a place to help them in the present, and walk with them into the future.

Sure, they might seek out a pastor, or a counselor, or a professional, or even a close friend to talk about the details of “what happened.” But when they come in here, my guess is they just want to know if they can be accepted where they are at, and loved through where they are heading. They want to know if we are interested in their dirt, or interested in helping them.

You see, whether it is a couple in their 40s that didn’t even think they could have kids again, and all the sudden. . .the test is positive. Or whether it is a couple in their teens who have had too much too drink, ventured off to too private of a place, and now find themselves thrust into the world of parenting. Or whether it is a 21 year old college student who really thought he loved her, and wanted to show him that she loved him too.

Or even whether it is a young, teenage village girl, betrothed to be married, who hasn’t even touched her fiancé. They all hold something in common. Life has taken an unexpected turn. From this day forward, it is going to be radically different, and they need something and someone to cling to if they are going to make it from here.

Let’s look at three things that Mary clinged to as she approached her unexpected turn:

1. MARY APPROACHED HER UNEXPECTED TURN WITH...FAVOR.

(read verse 28) In Mary’s case, she was given favor by God. High favor. Not by any work, or merit, or part that she had played. It was a gift from God. And before we can face life’s unexpected turns, we need to recognize God’s favor. His grace.

Each one of us has been given the grace, the favor that is needed to face an unplanned pregnancy, divorce, debt, or countless other surprise turns in this journey we call life.

I will not claim to fully understand how all this works. However, I know that each and every person, each and every baby, each and every life that God creates is a blessing from God. A testimony to God’s grace and favor.

This week I was spending some time with an individual, and I kept cringing as we shared about the epidemic of teen pregnancy because he kept utilizing the terms “illegitimate babies” and “illegitimate children.” And you can argue with me until you are blue in the face, and you will still not convince me that God looks upon any life, any of His creations as “illegitimate.”

No, I don’t understand why the victim of a violent rape gets pregnant, while many partying college students live sexually promiscuous lives with seeming no long term consequences. It is beyond my grasp how married couples can work for years, desiring to have children, and remain barren while a 14 year-old behaves carelessly one afternoon and is instantly pregnant.