Behold, I make all things new. – Jesus (Revelation 21:5)
Despite the major snowstorm we experienced in and around Casper recently, the calendar reminds us spring starts March 20. Many of us await the sights and smells of crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and other flowers. We wish away the mounds of snow.
Spring is a time of rebirth, when flowers proceed from their winter dormancy and when leaves bud from the trees. The sun warms the earth, and the brilliant blue skies we experience in Wyoming seem even larger. We’re enveloped with joy because nature renews the land with color and brightness.
Spring is also the time we celebrate Easter. Although Jesus was buried in a tomb, He rose again. Scripture tells us He appeared to the women who followed Him as well as His disciples (see Luke 24 and John 20). When He breathed upon His followers, he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22). He gave them a renewal and rebirth of their faith.
Experiencing Rebirth
We experience that as well. When we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, He gives us new life. His spirit lives within us, and we become, as the Apostle Paul says, “a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
That is our hope and prayer for the women who come to True Care. They enter our doors, often fearful and confused. True Care’s mission is to erase the perceived need for abortion, turning women’s fears into confidence. We do that through our medical services, the support and encouragement offered by our advocates, and tangible resources such as our Baby & Me and Resource Programs. We also offer them the opportunity to know and accept Christ. Each interaction with our staff plants a seed, a seed of hope and faith.
Watering Seeds, Embracing Grace
Those seeds are watered through another program available to our patients. Embrace Grace, a discipleship program offered through the local church for single, pregnant women, began two years ago in Casper. Started by one of our advocates, her church (Paradise Valley Christian Church) graciously took on the program, and has provided not only a weekly meeting place, but also meals, baby showers, and a “Princess Day,” reminding these moms-to-be they are valued, that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them, and that they are princesses in His eyes.
Two more churches have stepped forward in the past year to offer the Embrace Grace program, providing additional opportunities for more single moms to know Christ and accept His gift of grace. Each session of the program provides opportunity for rebirth in Jesus and renewal of these women’s lives.
As another Embrace Grace program begins at Cornerstone Church this month, please pray for the leaders guiding the women and those who will attend. Pray for seeds to be watered and for these moms-to-be to “bloom” as new creations in Christ, and that their lives will be “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither– whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).
May that be the prayer over our lives as well, especially this Easter season.
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
– Isaiah 58:11