“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is the God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
– Isaiah 30:18
Ghosting. Sadly, it’s become a part of our culture. Gone are the days when people respected others’ time and efforts. That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable, especially if you’re the one being ghosted.
This is a challenge that Eva faces often. We pray, follow up with texts, emails and calls, for women to come back for that next ultrasound, STI testing, and/or options conversations with an advocate. Sometimes nothing they do works. Especially heartbreaking are the even more special cases that have multiple needs beyond medical services.
One afternoon, a patient came to Eva obviously under the influence of some drug. She was loud, did not make eye contact, and was unable to have a fluid conversation. After spending a bit of time with her, it was determined the patient, we’ll call her Mia, was a homeless heroin addict. Knowing what she was doing could harm her baby, happy tears streamed down her face when she saw the child in her womb moving around and measuring normal size. We offered her housing and addiction recovery information, and of course, prayed for her.
Mia was scheduled for a second ultrasound a week later but did not keep that appointment. The following week she came to Eva as a support person for a friend who was also pregnant. Still obviously under the influence of heroin and with no one else in the waiting room, our nurse and advocate took advantage of the moment to spend time with her. Knowing Jesus loves her despite her condition, they prayed fervently for her to reach out to Christ for the strength to overcome her addiction. A new appointment was made for her to come for a second ultrasound. You guessed it. Mia was a no show. Despite several follow-ups by both our advocate and nurse, there was no response. It sure didn’t look good for this woman or her precious child.
After several weeks out of the blue, a text came. Mia explained that she had been unable to communicate because she had checked herself into a rehab facility and completed the program. According to the medical care she received at the rehab facility she was carrying a healthy baby girl! Praise the Lord! Now done with rehab, she was happy to be back in the area, clean, and attending church regularly. Mia credited our Eva team with bringing her back to Him, but we all know who really brought her back.
Patience is indeed a virtue. Sometimes it’s all about having the patience of Job.
Yours in Christ,
Paula