The four-month pregnant mom came to RETA in spring of 2017. She was interested in parent coaching to earn coupons to shop in our Family Store for baby supplies. She already had four children but didn’t have custody of any of them. She was matter-of-fact and avoided eye contact. She declined prayer at every appointment and voiced her struggle with being sleepy from the pregnancy. She was closed with her story and didn’t want to see multiple volunteers. We decided she would only be assigned to me and we would schedule her the same time each week.

Five months into meeting, she opened up and started to share why she was living in Elkhart and why her children lived with their fathers. She began to give me eye contact.

She had a baby girl in the fall of 2017 and complained the child cried too much and was too demanding of her attention. I continued to meet with her and share age-appropriate development of babies and toddlers. She shared more and more of her story, but still no prayer.

In January of 2019, she decided she was open to working through a Bible study called Thirty Discipleship Exercises. Each week we did a lesson together and she shared more and more of her story but still declined prayer. In the spring of 2019, she came to an appointment excited to share something she did the week before when I was gone on vacation. She shared she’d driven to Chicago to have an abortion. My heart sunk. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. She had no remorse, only relief.

We had started to develop a close relationship at that point, so she was open to me asking questions and probing why she felt she should have the abortion. A few months later, she came in to the office and shared she went to Chicago and had another abortion. Because of my relationship with her, I boldly shared she shouldn’t use abortion as birth control and also that she was getting herself into dangerous situations. She was open and listened, but, again, declined prayer.

We continued to meet once a week the rest of 2019, with slow and steady growth. In January of 2020, she came to RETA crying. Barging into my office, she began sharing an experience she had with God over the weekend. She said God told her to remove things from her life. She didn’t verbalize what was to be removed but just said over and over, ‘remove.’ She was broken. I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to ask her if I could share a Scripture and pray with her. She agreed.

I shared John 10:10 and expressed how Satan desired to kill, steal, and destroy her but Christ came to give life to the full. I told her Christ wants to give her freedom and wants a relationship with her. I prayed over her. She wept. She shared about accepting Jesus as her savior many years before, but then walked away later. We continued to meet, walking through what having a relationship with God means.

In June of 2020, she moved away. Sadly, due to COVID-19, I wasn’t able to say good bye. She called recently to touch base and share about her move. Several times she commented about giving God the glory for his provision. She plans to call at least once a month to stay connected. She taught me so much about God’s timing, his plan, provision and love.

by Joni, Client Services Manager