*Name changed to protect client confidentiality. Photos used are of actual clients but not necessarily the client(s) in the story.
Claire’s Story
In 2014, Claire and her boyfriend found out she was pregnant. They weren’t together at the time. The relationship had been rocky, and the news hit her like a wall.
Claire was working at Young Life and living inside a Christian community. She felt the weight of the gap between where she was and what people expected of her. “I was so embarrassed and crippled by constant fear. I couldn’t go to church. I was filled with shame.”
She and her boyfriend had only been together a few times. She was working as a barista, barely covering her bills, living across the street from a Planned Parenthood. She thought about abortion often.
“When you’re scared, you hear things like, ‘It’s just a pill and it’s gone,’” she says. “When you’re desperate, you consider things you never thought you’d do. When someone is starving, they might consider stealing — even though they’d never normally imagine it. Desperation changes what feels possible.”
Claire heard about Life Network from her boyfriend’s father and decided to go. She walked in broken, ashamed, not knowing what to expect.
On the other side of the door was her counselor, Diane. Claire told her, “I don’t want to be considering abortion, but I am.” Diane listened and said: “You’re not the only one this happens to. You’re not alone.”
“Meeting with someone every week that I could be really honest with made a difference,” Claire says.
One day, she felt a clear and quiet conviction: this is not your life to take. She decided she was going to have this baby. Her boyfriend, Marcus, and she started talking again — rebuilding slowly, becoming friends. They took parenting classes at Life Network together. At six months pregnant, they got married.
On October 21st, their daughter “Grace” was born.
“It was worth fighting every fear and lie — just to see her,” Claire says.
The first years of marriage were hard. But Diane was there through those too. Claire and Marcus prayed their way through it, and their family held together.
Today, Grace is eight years old and in third grade. She lights up every room she walks into. Claire and Marcus went on to have a second daughter.
“God has been abundantly graceful and so good,” Claire says. “We have a life that I never would have pictured.”
“Feelings are fleeting. Circumstances are fleeting. It’s okay to be afraid — your whole life is going to change. But it can change for the better. It’s okay to have the thoughts you’re having. Don’t carry shame that your mind went there. Just don’t let fear be the last word.”
“I was terrified and didn’t want to be a mom. But God has given me everything I’ve needed to be a great one — one step at a time.”
Because of donors like you, Claire chose life for Grace — and went on to have another daughter. The generational impact of your support is real. You are helping shape what comes next.
Learn more about Legacy Giving and how you can change future generations.