When I started building our baby registry, I was immediately overwhelmed by the price tags on basic items every parent and infant needs. Car seat, crib and mattress, stroller, diapers and wipes, bottles, burp clothes — everything easily tallying into the $1,000+ range for budget brands.
And let’s not forget about the cost of medical care leading up to and following our baby’s entrance into the world.
It was almost crippling.
As I sat on my couch, on the verge of panic thinking about the cost of birthing and caring for this child, the Lord reminded me about my village — the countless family members, church members, friends and friends of friends who love me and my husband and our baby.
Like my sister-in-law, a product research genius and new mom who shared her most-used registry items and offered to keep an eye out for items that we wanted at her local baby bargain boutique — two whole states away. Or a friend who, not even an hour after announcing our pregnancy, told me we’d be receiving her bassinet free and, if the baby is a girl, pretty much everything else she used for her daughters. And my church family, who have reminded me about the love and support we will receive throughout this journey and celebrated our little one before even knowing his or her name.
And then I thought about all of the moms who don’t have a supportive village.
The college student just trying to pass midterms and build friendships when her future plans are derailed by that positive test. The older mother who was done having children and is facing the prospect of re-living early parenthood with her husband years after getting rid of her baby gear. The single woman whose friends and family recommend abortion because motherhood might just be too much to handle without a partner.
There are so many women in every stage of life, in every socioeconomic bracket without emotional or material support, who lack resources and are overwhelmed by an unplanned or even a planned pregnancy.
But pregnancy resource centers help stand in that gap. Every day, in every corner of Kentucky, generous men and women donate cribs and car seats and baby food and strollers and formula and clothing so they can be given to families who need extra support. Medical professionals volunteer their time to provide free medical services like ultrasounds and STD testing. Parents and grandparents teach parenting classes and mentor young moms and dads who are still figuring everything out.
The work of these ministries is essential, not just because they help offset the astronomical costs of welcoming a baby into the world, but because as they meet physical needs, they are also inviting men and women and their children to know Jesus and experience the freedom and joy He offers.
The gospel is the heartbeat of our state’s pregnancy resource centers, and their work would not be possible without the support of local churches, believers and businesses — people just like you who sacrifice to be the village for those who do not have one.
I’m so thankful for my village and for the villages that stand ready to uplift mothers and fathers who feel alone in their pregnancy and parenting journeys.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared at Kentucky Today.)
