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Those words echoed through my life over and over again.
They came from the father of my unborn child. They came from my own father. Everywhere I turned, it felt like the people around me were telling me the same thing—that my baby was a problem that needed to disappear.
At the time, I was already carrying more pain than I knew how to handle. I was walking through the heartbreak of a divorce from the father of my two boys, trying to hold myself together while navigating loneliness, uncertainty, extensive chronic illness and what felt like insurmountable fear. Then in the midst of all that, I found out I was very unexpectedly pregnant.
Instead of finding support, I found immense pressure.
The baby's father wanted nothing to do with me or our child. My phone became a constant reminder of rejection as angry messages poured in, demanding that I get an abortion. As painful as that was, what hurt even more was hearing the same message from my own family and friends. My sister, who had chosen abortion herself, believed it was the right decision for me too. When I hesitated, my father became angry. He listed every reason he thought I shouldn't have this baby and repeatedly shouted, "Get an abortion. Now." He wrote me manipulative emails trying to get me to change my mind and held me against impossible ultimatums. It came at me from all angles.
I felt trapped, lost, and completely abandoned by almost everyone around me.
But what no one around me could see was that God was already working in my heart.
Not long before all of this, I had started attending GraceLife Church in Columbia. Through the church, I learned about Daybreak. Even though I already had an abortion appointment scheduled at Planned Parenthood for the very next day, friends from church encouraged me to visit Daybreak first.
When I walked through those doors, I was overwhelmed. I was scared. I truly believed I had no other option. Through tears, I kept repeating the same words: "I don't want to have an abortion, but I don't have a choice. I can't do this."
But something changed that day.
For the first time since finding out I was pregnant, I felt seen; I felt heard; I felt cared for. Daybreak gave me a safe place to process my fears, grieve my losses, and honestly talk about the weight I was carrying. Instead of being told what I had to do, I was reminded that I had choices. More importantly, I was reminded that God had not abandoned me and that He would give me the wisdom and strength I needed for whatever came next.
A week later, I returned for another appointment, and everything felt different.
I had experienced a peace that I can't fully explain. The fear that had consumed me wasn't gone overnight, but it no longer controlled me. Deep in my heart, I knew my baby was a gift from God. I knew abortion was no longer the path I wanted to take.
As I continued saying yes to God, He began opening doors I never could have opened on my own.
I was baptized. I joined a small group at church. I found a work-from-home job that allows me to provide for my family while preparing for my daughter's arrival. Little by little, God surrounded me with people who encouraged me, supported me, and reminded me that I wasn't alone. He sent me complete strangers when I had nobody.
Then, on April 22 at 12:12 p.m., I met the little girl who changed my life forever.
Holding my daughter for the first time was a moment I will never forget.
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