The apostle Paul exhorts us to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) so as to fulfill Christ’s commandment to love one another.
The Greek word Paul used for “bear” literally means “to sustain, bear, or hold up against a thing,” much as a person would tie a stake to a tomato plant to sustain it from the weight it carries.
The strength of the stake is transferred to the plant, and in doing so, bears it up.
When we bear one another’s burdens, we are staking ourselves to that person and propping them up with our strength until they are strong enough to stand on their own.
Such is the essence of pregnancy help center ministry in coming alongside someone contemplating abortion!
Ciara was 15 years old and pregnant.
The father of the baby was unsure if he wanted their baby, and exerted pressure on Ciara to have an abortion.
After Ciara broke the news to her mom, she begged her for help to obtain an abortion.
Together, they searched the internet for information about abortion services.
Finding Heroic Media’s OAASYS Emergency Response ad at the top of their search results, they were connected to our Pregnancy Help Center partner in Akron, Ohio, and made an appointment.
When Ciara met with her client advocate at the pregnancy center, she shared that one of her main concerns about continuing with the pregnancy was the “undue burden” she felt it would place on her mother.
However, she also said she believed that “the baby is a life” and not “a bunch of cells,” and having an abortion “would sorta be like murder.”
The brutal fact of an abortion killing a life was starkly brought home to her when she saw the ultrasound of her 15-week-old baby, a little girl who was actively moving about and showing off the life force within her!
Following the ultrasound, as the nurse helped Ciara and her mother process through Ciara’s pregnancy options, Ciara’s mother became emotional and revealed that she herself had had an abortion when she was about Ciara’s age.
While she did not want her daughter to go through what she had, she felt it was important for Ciara to make the decision on her own.
However, she clearly stated that she would be there to help bear the burden with Ciara should she decide to continue with the pregnancy.
Likewise, the staff at the pregnancy center fully assured them that they would help them with all the resources they needed for this baby, both emotional and material.
Ciara felt greatly strengthened when she knew she could lean upon both her mother and the pregnancy help center at a time when she needed their strength.
Empowered with strength and hope, she made the decision to choose life for her daughter!
Your support of Heroic Media’s OAASYS indispensably shares in the bearing of the burdens of so many women contemplating abortion, playing the critical, first-line-of-defense role in their making the choice for life.
THANK YOU!
Galatians 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
