Today at HOPE is a bit different for our staff. Today, we are blessed to welcome back a host of former parenting class participants and their babies for a HOPE reunion! The most beautiful part about today, however, is that the prompting for this event actually came from our patients.
These patients didn’t just receive services from HOPE; they gained lasting relationships with our staff, volunteers, and their fellow class participants. It has truly been refreshing to see these patients and their babies interact as they share the ups and downs of parenting while finding solace in the fact they are not facing this alone.
This reunion and our engagement with our patients post-birth is in direct contradiction to the narrative that many push when they say pregnancy centers only care about the baby in the womb. This is why I spend a great deal of time seeking to combat false narratives.
Our love and devotion to our patients is not determined by their positive or negative pregnancy test, their ability to carry, or what they can give us. Instead, our love and devotion is based on their being created in the image of God. This truth drives us to care deeply about moms and their babies. It is a both/and not an either/or.
The past 20 years at HOPE have been remarkable. We have seen thousands of lives transformed and saved and are blessed to witness that truth firsthand today as we welcome back former patients to celebrate.
It is not lost on me that none of this would be possible without the support of people like you. We provide services, mentoring, and material assistance, but you provide the means.
Please take a moment today to reflect on your work and partnership with HOPE. It is through these partnerships that we get the pleasure of holding, loving, and serving the most vulnerable moms and babies in this city. Let that truth sink in as you step into the weekend!
posted by Andrew Wood, Executive Director of Hope Resource Center
