Pregnancy is hard. Taking care of a new baby is hard. Doing that without support is even harder. That’s why I’m really excited about Embrace Grace. This is a pro-love initiative launched to help save babies by helping their moms get plugged into local churches for spiritual, emotional and physical support.
Three of my four daughters have been unplanned pregnancies. Two of them were born when we were living on minimum wage or student loans. Despite that, my husband and I never questioned their arrival. We had each other, and family and friends around us, and we knew we’d make it work somehow. Our daughters were unplanned, but never unwanted.
So I can’t really imagine what it’s like for a mom to face an unplanned pregnancy with no support. Stories like Allison’s Choice or Melissa Ohden’s biography make me want to weep. When a woman feels like she has only one choice, then it’s not a choice. Yet, until now, I haven’t really known what to do to help women like Allison or Melissa’s mom. Embrace Grace is a beautiful, practical way that we can show love to new moms who may not have any other support.
Through Embrace Grace, boxes are distributed to pregnancy centers nation-wide and given to young, single women with positive pregnancy tests. The box is full of gifts that will inspire hope and impart love to a mom who may be scared for her future. Each box consists of a Fearless Journal and pen, a Bump in Life book, a baby onesie, testimonial letters of girls that chose adoption and chose to parent, an invitation to join an Embrace Grace group and a Brave Girl letter that can be written by YOU!
You have the opportunity to speak into the life of a mom who could be contemplating a life or death decision. You can encourage, uplift and inspire her to choose life and to get plugged into an Embrace Grace support group at a local church.
Embrace Grace wants to help brave moms choose life and get plugged into a spiritual family so they can be saved, discipled, and mentored. Because moms needs moms, they can also be part of a community that loves them the way Jesus loves.
There are 3 ways you can get involved:
- Start an Embrace Grace at your local church so young women with unplanned pregnancies have a support group
- Partner with the national organization through prayer and support at www.EmbraceGrace.com
- Download and print our brave girl letter and mail it to Embrace Grace for us to place inside a Love in a Box
I received a copy of the Fearless Journal and the pro-love necklace from Embrace Grace. Both are beautiful! The journal is slender—the perfect size to slide into a purse or backpack to jot in on the go or pull out when a boost in courage is needed. Inside is a beautiful letter from God to the brave girl. The journal includes prompts for writing about bravery and fear, along with inspirational quotes and advice. It looks small, but it has a lot in it.
The necklace is a lovely concrete reminder of what matters. Love. I’ve often worn necklaces to remind me of something important. For years after my confirmation, I wrote a Jerusalem cross necklace that reminded me of my faith and my decision at my confirmation to follow Jesus. During my last pregnancy, I wrote a St. Gerard medal that reminded me to ask him to intercede for myself and my other pregnant friends. The pro-love necklace is thus a beautiful memento to a young woman of the friends who stand behind her and the love she’s chosen in having this baby.
To find out more about Embrace Grace or make a donation, drop by their website.
I received this journal and necklace from Embrace Grace in exchange for this review. This post is part of the FrontGate Blogger Network.
2 Comments
This is a beautiful initiative. May I respectfully suggest that there are married moms who could also benefit from this ministry? Thank you for what you are doing for mothers and babies.
Margaret – you’re right that any mom needs support during pregnancy and after having a baby. And many married moms, for various reasons, need it just as much as a single mom. A friend of mine here in Vancouver is starting an initiative to give any new mom a self-care basket to promote postpartum health and prevent postpartum depression. So it is a great idea, though Embrace Grace has a specific mission. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!