Baby showers are a time of joy and happiness. They are truly celebratory events. It is a chance for all of
our loved ones to rally together in support of our child and our family. Sure, we receive gifts and necessities, but the true meaning behind the baby shower is to show love to a friend. It is a humbling event, but a blessing for sure.

What if I told you that not all parents get to experience this? What if I told you there was a population in this community that is neglected? What if I told you a shower was thrown and the person being showered had no support system? This seems farfetched. This cannot be true. Surely everyone has someone that will stand with them and is celebrating their baby. Unfortunately this is a reality for many.

This is a reality we are seeking to change here at HOPE. We had the pleasure of throwing ten baby showers this past week. Ten showers in four hours. Yeah…you read that right. We were able to, with the help of churches and volunteers, provide car seats, pack-n-plays, diapers, and clothes to these families. This was an exhausting day, but so rewarding. We throw these showers for our class graduates, who have each completed classes over a ten-week period. These women have worked hard and are seeking to make the right decisions for their baby. We believe in loving these families well, but we also believe in mentoring and walking with them through their pregnancy. We are not simply in the baby-having business; we are in the equipping-and-loving business and we want nothing more than for these moms to be prepared and ready for parenthood.

This was my first experience of seeing a HOPE baby shower. I watched as some mothers came in our doors with the father of their baby, family, and friends. This was such a blessing to see that these women had support. However, I also watched as other mothers came in our doors alone. They had no one to rally around them. They had no one, but they had HOPE. They might have walked through that door nervous and concerned, but they were welcomed with open arms and loved. Some folks might not understand this, but some of our patients have never experienced love. They are not real sure what that even looks like, but they are searching for it. Our goal here at HOPE is to be that love for them. We want them to see that their life matters. We want to, in many cases, restore the dignity that has been lost. We want these ladies to see that they are worthy of our time, they are worthy of our prayers, and they are certainly worthy of our love.

Being pro-life must not stop at the womb. I know that sounds strange, but sometimes I feel like we, pro-lifers, put all of our focus on the baby and we neglect the one carrying him or her. In doing this, we are, in many cases, continuing to strip this mom of her dignity. She might have made poor choices in life that ultimately brought her to HOPE, but that doesn’t mean she is any less deserving of our love and our care. It is our pro-life stance that should motivate us to love mom just as well as baby. When we stop at the womb we are no different than the other side – the other side that only focuses on mom (although they wouldn’t refer to her as a mother). Their choice stance is concrete. They absolutely stop at the womb. They have no care for the unborn life that is being nourished in mom’s body. We must be different. We must show that being pro-life is the absolute best way, the only way, to truly celebrate women’s health.

HOPE is a life celebrating organization. We cherish life. We cherish babies, we cherish mommies, and we cherish daddies. We are unashamed in our pro-life stance. We are unashamed of the impact we are having in this community. We will no longer whisper our life stance. We are prepared to proclaim that all lives matter. I want to challenge you today. Are you pro-life or on the fence? Come see us at HOPE. We would welcome you here to assist us in this love work. Remember, we are not the alternative. Life happened long before any abortion ever did. See you soon!