Sarah's Story
On Sunday morning, the sun was shining brightly despite the crisp February air. Sarah, a slender, well dressed woman, had gotten up early that morning to catch the taxi to Jerusalem from her city outside of town. She had a lot on her mind because she’d recently done a pregnancy test which confirmed her fears that she, over 40, divorced and the mother of two grown children was now pregnant out of wedlock.
She arrived in Jerusalem and made her way to the local city bus on her way to Hadassah hospital. As she passed in front of the main entrance to the central bus station, a smiling blond quietly slipped a brightly colored flier into her hand. Sarah glanced down at the flier and stopped. She caught her breath as she read about baby development and the consequences of abortion. “What an odd thing to get this flier just now,” she thought to herself. As she passed the entrance of the station, walking toward her bus, she saw another woman handing out the same flier. Sarah looked this woman straight in the eyes and asked, “Do you know where I’m going?” ”Tell me”, I said. Waving the flier in the air, she answered “I’m on my way to a meeting with the abortion committee.” “This flier is a sign to you from God. It’s not a coincidence”, I responded. We talked for a few minutes, but she didn’t want to be late for her hospital appointment. I asked if I could pray for her. She bowed her head and wept as the love of God touched her heart. I placed my business card in her hand urging her, “Please call me after your meeting so that we can talk. I know that the committee will allow you the free abortion because you meet their criterion of being over 40. Let’s talk about other options.”
Sarah made her way pensively to her next bus, sat down and pulled out her cellphone. A petite religious woman, loaded down with two small children, was sitting near Sarah. Hagit couldn’t help overhearing the phone conversation. As Sarah talked about the need to have an abortion, Hagit felt that she had to speak up. “Excuse me for interfering”, she said, “you probably just think that I’m rude, but I heard you saying that you don’t want this baby... Why not let him live? You just have to talk to a woman I know before you decide. She helped to change my husband’s perspective.” Hagit took my phone number out of her cellphone and wrote it on a small scrap of paper for Sarah.
I didn’t hear from Sarah on Sunday nor Monday morning, but we did pray for her during our weekly pro-life prayer meeting Monday morning. Late Monday night the phone rang. Sarahanxiously told me that the abortion was planned for first thingWednesday morning, and that she really wanted to talk with me before that. A major snowstorm had been predicted for Tuesday and in Israel, there’s virtually no traveling when it snows. “What’s the rush? Why not put off the abortion and not be so pressured?” I asked. “Wednesday is the last possible day for me to do an abortion using the pill (RU486) because I’m now at the end of the 7th week of pregnancy, and I’m too afraid to do a surgical abortion.”
Despite the snowstorm, Sarah arrived at exactly 2pm. We talked about her fears, her heart’s desires, and how we could help her to keep this child. At one point Sarah said, “I really do want this baby, but I don’t know how I will manage.” After a sincere conversation, Sarah had a big smile on her face and sighed, “I feel so relieved, I hadn’t slept all night, but now I have peace.” Sarah had decided, by God’s grace, to keep her baby.
On Wednesday morning, I went to make our monthly deliveries of diapers and baby food to the mothers in our Operation Moses Project. As I chatted with one of the moms, she said, “You know, I overheard a woman on the bus this week who wanted to have an abortion so I interrupted her and told her to call you. I gave her your phone number. I hope that’s okay.”
Hagit had helped Sarah.
I was overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness. I couldn’t have known about Hagit and Sarah’s meeting unless she’d told me. Hagit was even late for her own doctor’s appointment that day because she’d mistakenly gotten on the wrong bus!
Later that day, I just had to call Sarah and ask her about the “rude” woman on the bus. It took her a few moments to remember and then she was as amazed as I was. God had sovereignly told her three times on her way to the abortion committee not to abort – once through the flier, once through my prayer and short conversation, and again through Hagit on the bus.
“God has a very special plan for this baby. Just like He called special people in the Bible – like the prophet Jeremiah, Samson and others – God has a purpose and a plan for your child” I encouraged her. Sarah was overwhelmed by God’s mercy. She is not a religious woman but has certainly seen the loving Hand of God on her life and her baby’s life. Her baby is in the fall of 2008.
