From the Director

 I answered the phone today at the office to be met by the sad, trying-to-hold-it-together voice of a mother whose 15-year-old daughter had just announced her pregnancy. Through her sadness and grief at the painful journey that lay ahead for her young daughter, I could hear the mother trying to be positive and hopeful in a desperate situation.

 There aren't any "right" words, any magic that can take away the painful realities of that moment. Nothing I can say is going to make it all better. But what I could do was tell her that she's not alone, that people will pray for them, and to let her know that whenever she needs to talk, someone here at Breath Of Life will be available ... no matter what.

 We discussed her housing options here in Texas and I was able to give her some hands-on knowlege of what Christian maternity homes are available to her. She had actually visited a home and had come away with nothing but a cold feeling and no support. She wanted to know that the place she chose for her young daughter would be nurturing, safe, and most of all, filled with the love of Jesus Christ and the hope of all the help her child would need in the process of having a child herself.

 After giving her the information she sought, we said our goodbyes as she caught her breath trying to hold it together. She searched for words to hide her embarrassment at the situation and said, "We tried so hard to raise our children in a good, moral home. I can't believe this is happening. I thought we did a good job." I knew that pain. I'd forced my parents to walk through it twenty years ago. So I relayed that to here with, "I was there once myself. I was a preacher's daughter that got pregnant." "You were?" she replied incredulously. I continued to reassure her by letting her know that she and her husband had laid the foundation, but now it was up to her daughter to make wise choices, that she couldn't make them for her anymore. Yet here she was supporting her, loving her and aching for what was ahead.

 A mother's heart ... broken, hurting, and wanting the very best for her child. That's a huge part of what we do here at Breath Of Life; offer the hope that Christ himself has offered to us at the painful junctures of our journey to get closer to him and become more like Him.

 It was a painful call. Unfortunately, it won't be the only one like it we receive this week. But the staff stopped and prayed, the mother was encouraged and the young pregnant girl was pointed to a home that will undoubtedly change her life with teh love of Jesus Christ surrounding her. Now ... you tell me; do you think God's using you and me to make a difference today? I sure do.