Read Next
Politics
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Ohio pro-abortion amendment
Bridget Sielicki
·Spotlight Articles
Human Interest·By Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
Jesus brought 'something beautiful' from her unplanned pregnancy
When Raquel Rose first found out she was pregnant, she was panic-stricken in the bathroom of a Chipotle restaurant. She scheduled an abortion — but just days before it was set to be carried out, a divine moment changed everything.
When Raquel Rose discovered she was pregnant, she decided to have an abortion.
While attending Catholic Mass a few days before the scheduled abortion, she had a profound experience that led her to cancel her appointment.
After telling her family and professors about her pregnancy, they each responded with support, helping Rose to realize that her fears about having a baby were unfounded.
Today, she owns the Catholic lifestyle brand, "The Little Rose Shop."
“I found out I was pregnant in a Chipotle bathroom. I was living with a roommate at the time, and I didn’t want there to be any way she could find [the pregnancy test] in the bathroom," Racquel Rose told Live Action News:
“The moment that I saw the two lines, it literally felt like all my insides dropped out of me. Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you’re falling off a cliff into black nothingness and that sheer panic? That’s literally what it felt like. I was so scared, horrified. ... I think I was under spiritual attack, all that shame, embarrassment, fear.”
Having been an athlete in high school and a star student throughout college, pregnancy was not part of Rose's plans. She was not in a relationship with her child’s father, and she feared disappointing her family, friends, and the young women in her Bible study.
She explained, “I basically went into deep depression, despair, isolation. There was not a single person that I told. It felt like a spiritual attack where you’re just alone with yourself, and you’re spiraling.”
Having been raised in the Catholic faith and with pro-life values, Rose acknowledged, “In my head, I knew that abortion was not a good choice to make. But in my heart, I felt like I had no other choice and I was so panicked and not thinking clearly. After a few days of being so sick to my stomach, I called and scheduled an abortion.”
About a week before Rose’s abortion appointment, she went to Mass, which was serendipitous, or providential, given that she called her faith at the time “not that deep.”
Feeling ashamed of the secret she carried within her, she stood in the back of the church and “felt like such a hypocrite.” All the same, “I stayed, and everything felt like it was directed straight at me. The reading was the story of the Prodigal Son, and I felt like I was the Prodigal Daughter.”
But the moment that changed everything came during the consecration, when (according to Catholic belief) the priest consecrates the bread and wine, and they become the Body and Blood of Jesus Himself. “When the priest raised the Host, I felt like Jesus pierced my heart and said, ‘I love you. Your brokenness is not too much for me, and I love you.’"
At the exact same time, shimmering evening light shone through the stained glass windows, and Rose felt a sense of hope welling up within her, thinking about how “stained glass windows are a bunch of broken pieces of glass put back together to make something beautiful.”
She shared, “It was this really big consolation in my heart, and for the first time I felt this little speck of hope in my heart, ‘ok, maybe I don’t have to go through with this.’”
She canceled her abortion.
Rose felt convicted about telling her parents the news next. She considers it a blessing that her mom was out of town at the time because “I don’t know if I would have had the strength to tell her in person.”
On the phone, she poured out the news, telling her mom, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to disappoint you like this.”
Her mom paused.
And then she responded, “Raquel, I love you, I love you, I love you.”
When Rose went on to tell her dad and brother, “They basically had the same reaction.”
Summing up the responses of her family and close friends and even her professors, Rose said, “In those moments, my fear basically got squashed. All this fear that had been swirling in my head, I was like, ‘ok, that was a lie.’”
Far from the judgment, condemnation, and condescension that she’d feared, Rose received unwavering support from those closest to her, including a baby shower thrown by her college friends.
Rose and her mom went together to a pregnancy resource center for a free ultrasound. When she saw her baby on the screen, she said, “It was another consolation to me because in those moments when I was isolated, depressed, and alone, I felt like life was just black and white. There was no more color.”
But the stained glass windows in the church “felt like color coming back into my life.” Similarly, when she saw the color on the black-and-white ultrasound screen to indicate her jellybean-sized baby’s heart muscle pumping, “it was just another moment where I was like, ‘There is color here. There can be color with choosing life.’”
That was “also the moment when I realized, ‘I love this baby.’ When I saw her, it was clear to me, ‘I love her so much.’”
Unsurprisingly, Rose’s life changed in multiple ways after she welcomed her daughter just before midterms during her senior year of college.
Her professors at the mid-size state school she was attending accommodated her with virtual class attendance (long before the days of COVID mainstreamed virtual attendance and classes).
She was also able to graduate on time as originally anticipated.
But there were real changes, too, like moving back in with her parents for support as she navigated new motherhood. Having a new baby, with all the accompanying responsibilities, sleep deprivation, and need for creative multitasking, meant less free time for spontaneous or late-night hangouts with friends.
Still, Rose took the changes in stride.
When her daughter was born, she wondered, “What was I so afraid of? She’s perfect, and I love her so much. All of this was worth it to hold her in my arms.”
And while college is stereotypically a time of self-centeredness, “focusing on my dreams and plans,” Rose learned, “Not everything is about me; the world does not revolve around me. And there’s real sacrifice to be made, but it’s worth it because there’s someone else that you care about and you love, and it’s a much more fulfilling way to live when you’re not only living for yourself.”
The major life shift of becoming a new mother combined with the spiritual reawakening had major implications for the life Rose lives today.
Seeking to take ownership of her faith, and to incorporate it daily in ways her young daughter could receive, Rose began making coffee mugs with prayers on them, baby blankets and swaddle blankets with Scripture, and other religiously-themed versions of ordinary high-touch household items.
Eventually, she founded The Little Rose Shop, which grew over time into a multimillion-dollar business. Rose marvels that the beauty and blessings, both personal and professional, in her life today followed those two terrifying pink lines so many years ago.
Rose responded immediately and confidently when asked what she’d share with other young women experiencing unplanned pregnancy:
“I would tell her to not be alone. Do not be afraid of reaching out to some trusted people. You don’t have to do this alone. You’re not meant to do it alone. Don’t let your mind fool you that you’re all alone in this, because you’re not.
Once you find some people to open up to, you’ll realize that there are so many people who are in your corner and want to help you. It will be hard, but it will be worth it.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bridget Sielicki
·
Human Interest
Right to Life UK
·
Issues
Isabella Childs
·
Human Interest
Isabella Childs
·
Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·
Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·
Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·
Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·
Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·
Opinion
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·
Human Interest
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·Human Interest·By Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
Jesus brought 'something beautiful' from her unplanned pregnancy
When Raquel Rose first found out she was pregnant, she was panic-stricken in the bathroom of a Chipotle restaurant. She scheduled an abortion — but just days before it was set to be carried out, a divine moment changed everything.
When Raquel Rose discovered she was pregnant, she decided to have an abortion.
While attending Catholic Mass a few days before the scheduled abortion, she had a profound experience that led her to cancel her appointment.
After telling her family and professors about her pregnancy, they each responded with support, helping Rose to realize that her fears about having a baby were unfounded.
Today, she owns the Catholic lifestyle brand, "The Little Rose Shop."
“I found out I was pregnant in a Chipotle bathroom. I was living with a roommate at the time, and I didn’t want there to be any way she could find [the pregnancy test] in the bathroom," Racquel Rose told Live Action News:
“The moment that I saw the two lines, it literally felt like all my insides dropped out of me. Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you’re falling off a cliff into black nothingness and that sheer panic? That’s literally what it felt like. I was so scared, horrified. ... I think I was under spiritual attack, all that shame, embarrassment, fear.”
Having been an athlete in high school and a star student throughout college, pregnancy was not part of Rose's plans. She was not in a relationship with her child’s father, and she feared disappointing her family, friends, and the young women in her Bible study.
She explained, “I basically went into deep depression, despair, isolation. There was not a single person that I told. It felt like a spiritual attack where you’re just alone with yourself, and you’re spiraling.”
Having been raised in the Catholic faith and with pro-life values, Rose acknowledged, “In my head, I knew that abortion was not a good choice to make. But in my heart, I felt like I had no other choice and I was so panicked and not thinking clearly. After a few days of being so sick to my stomach, I called and scheduled an abortion.”
About a week before Rose’s abortion appointment, she went to Mass, which was serendipitous, or providential, given that she called her faith at the time “not that deep.”
Feeling ashamed of the secret she carried within her, she stood in the back of the church and “felt like such a hypocrite.” All the same, “I stayed, and everything felt like it was directed straight at me. The reading was the story of the Prodigal Son, and I felt like I was the Prodigal Daughter.”
But the moment that changed everything came during the consecration, when (according to Catholic belief) the priest consecrates the bread and wine, and they become the Body and Blood of Jesus Himself. “When the priest raised the Host, I felt like Jesus pierced my heart and said, ‘I love you. Your brokenness is not too much for me, and I love you.’"
At the exact same time, shimmering evening light shone through the stained glass windows, and Rose felt a sense of hope welling up within her, thinking about how “stained glass windows are a bunch of broken pieces of glass put back together to make something beautiful.”
She shared, “It was this really big consolation in my heart, and for the first time I felt this little speck of hope in my heart, ‘ok, maybe I don’t have to go through with this.’”
She canceled her abortion.
Rose felt convicted about telling her parents the news next. She considers it a blessing that her mom was out of town at the time because “I don’t know if I would have had the strength to tell her in person.”
On the phone, she poured out the news, telling her mom, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to disappoint you like this.”
Her mom paused.
And then she responded, “Raquel, I love you, I love you, I love you.”
When Rose went on to tell her dad and brother, “They basically had the same reaction.”
Summing up the responses of her family and close friends and even her professors, Rose said, “In those moments, my fear basically got squashed. All this fear that had been swirling in my head, I was like, ‘ok, that was a lie.’”
Far from the judgment, condemnation, and condescension that she’d feared, Rose received unwavering support from those closest to her, including a baby shower thrown by her college friends.
Rose and her mom went together to a pregnancy resource center for a free ultrasound. When she saw her baby on the screen, she said, “It was another consolation to me because in those moments when I was isolated, depressed, and alone, I felt like life was just black and white. There was no more color.”
But the stained glass windows in the church “felt like color coming back into my life.” Similarly, when she saw the color on the black-and-white ultrasound screen to indicate her jellybean-sized baby’s heart muscle pumping, “it was just another moment where I was like, ‘There is color here. There can be color with choosing life.’”
That was “also the moment when I realized, ‘I love this baby.’ When I saw her, it was clear to me, ‘I love her so much.’”
Unsurprisingly, Rose’s life changed in multiple ways after she welcomed her daughter just before midterms during her senior year of college.
Her professors at the mid-size state school she was attending accommodated her with virtual class attendance (long before the days of COVID mainstreamed virtual attendance and classes).
She was also able to graduate on time as originally anticipated.
But there were real changes, too, like moving back in with her parents for support as she navigated new motherhood. Having a new baby, with all the accompanying responsibilities, sleep deprivation, and need for creative multitasking, meant less free time for spontaneous or late-night hangouts with friends.
Still, Rose took the changes in stride.
When her daughter was born, she wondered, “What was I so afraid of? She’s perfect, and I love her so much. All of this was worth it to hold her in my arms.”
And while college is stereotypically a time of self-centeredness, “focusing on my dreams and plans,” Rose learned, “Not everything is about me; the world does not revolve around me. And there’s real sacrifice to be made, but it’s worth it because there’s someone else that you care about and you love, and it’s a much more fulfilling way to live when you’re not only living for yourself.”
The major life shift of becoming a new mother combined with the spiritual reawakening had major implications for the life Rose lives today.
Seeking to take ownership of her faith, and to incorporate it daily in ways her young daughter could receive, Rose began making coffee mugs with prayers on them, baby blankets and swaddle blankets with Scripture, and other religiously-themed versions of ordinary high-touch household items.
Eventually, she founded The Little Rose Shop, which grew over time into a multimillion-dollar business. Rose marvels that the beauty and blessings, both personal and professional, in her life today followed those two terrifying pink lines so many years ago.
Rose responded immediately and confidently when asked what she’d share with other young women experiencing unplanned pregnancy:
“I would tell her to not be alone. Do not be afraid of reaching out to some trusted people. You don’t have to do this alone. You’re not meant to do it alone. Don’t let your mind fool you that you’re all alone in this, because you’re not.
Once you find some people to open up to, you’ll realize that there are so many people who are in your corner and want to help you. It will be hard, but it will be worth it.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bridget Sielicki
·Human Interest
Right to Life UK
·Issues
Isabella Childs
·Human Interest
Isabella Childs
·Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·Issues
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·Opinion
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·Human Interest
Anne Marie Williams, RN, BSN
·