(Save the Storks) The following story comes from The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford in Rockford, IL.

“How did I get here?” I asked myself. I was standing in the bathroom of a gas station with a pregnancy test sitting on the lid of the trash receptacle next to me. I watched as the symbols slowly appeared on the white stick. I was pregnant.

Sitting there in the bathroom, I began to weep. How could I possibly raise a kid if I don’t have a home? I didn’t even have a bathroom where I could take a pregnancy test, let alone a warm place to sleep.

My boyfriend and I had been kicked out of our apartment two weeks before. We had been sleeping in our car—an old ‘89 Subaru with a broken window and no heat. We had both lost our jobs in the past six months and had exhausted every cent we had.

It wasn’t the first time the white stick told me I was pregnant. I was in high school and I decided to have an abortion. My friends had done it before… I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Man, I was so wrong. We all were. I was still living in the regret and depression that followed that abortion.

Still, no matter how much I regretted that decision, I couldn’t bring a child into my helpless situation. Abortion was my only option and I would just have to deal with the pain that followed.

The day after I took the test, my boyfriend dropped me off at the abortion clinic. Just as I was walking through the door, I heard someone say something about a free ultrasound. I looked back and saw that she was talking to me.

She repeated herself, saying, “Would you be interested in a free ultrasound?” I looked through the door of the abortion clinic and saw several crying women. I looked back at the lady who spoke to me, and then at her bus—covered in nice pictures and colorful fonts. I walked towards her.

I entered the bus with mixed emotions. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew what I had to do. I wanted to be a mom, but knew that I had to wait.

The nurse asked me several questions about my health history and I ended up telling her all about my previous abortion and the terrible effects it had had on me. I told her that deep down I felt that this pregnancy was my “second chance”—my second chance to make the right decision and my second chance to be a mom.

She asked if I wanted to have an ultrasound done so that I could see my baby. I eagerly said “yes” and sat down on the leather table. I leaned back and the nurse moved the ultrasound probe around my stomach. The nurse showed me my baby’s heartbeat—I couldn’t believe it! That was all I needed to decide that I was going to keep my baby.

The nurse and counselor prayed with me and assured me that I would not be alone on my journey through motherhood. They told me about local pregnancy centers where I could receive resources that would help me find housing, food, and supplies for my child while my boyfriend and I continued to look for jobs.

They also told me that not only will they support me through this, but that God cares deeply for me and will never leave me. I don’t think I have ever felt so loved and cared for.

Feeling uplifted and hopeful, I signed both me and my boyfriend  up for the follow-up program with the pregnancy center. Thanks to the Stork Bus, I left feeling like I truly had a “second chance.”

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared at Save the Storks, and is reprinted here with permission.

(Save the Storks) The following story comes from The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford in Rockford, IL.

“How did I get here?” I asked myself. I was standing in the bathroom of a gas station with a pregnancy test sitting on the lid of the trash receptacle next to me. I watched as the symbols slowly appeared on the white stick. I was pregnant.

Sitting there in the bathroom, I began to weep. How could I possibly raise a kid if I don’t have a home? I didn’t even have a bathroom where I could take a pregnancy test, let alone a warm place to sleep.

My boyfriend and I had been kicked out of our apartment two weeks before. We had been sleeping in our car—an old ‘89 Subaru with a broken window and no heat. We had both lost our jobs in the past six months and had exhausted every cent we had.

It wasn’t the first time the white stick told me I was pregnant. I was in high school and I decided to have an abortion. My friends had done it before… I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Man, I was so wrong. We all were. I was still living in the regret and depression that followed that abortion.

Still, no matter how much I regretted that decision, I couldn’t bring a child into my helpless situation. Abortion was my only option and I would just have to deal with the pain that followed.

The day after I took the test, my boyfriend dropped me off at the abortion clinic. Just as I was walking through the door, I heard someone say something about a free ultrasound. I looked back and saw that she was talking to me.

She repeated herself, saying, “Would you be interested in a free ultrasound?” I looked through the door of the abortion clinic and saw several crying women. I looked back at the lady who spoke to me, and then at her bus—covered in nice pictures and colorful fonts. I walked towards her.

I entered the bus with mixed emotions. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew what I had to do. I wanted to be a mom, but knew that I had to wait.

The nurse asked me several questions about my health history and I ended up telling her all about my previous abortion and the terrible effects it had had on me. I told her that deep down I felt that this pregnancy was my “second chance”—my second chance to make the right decision and my second chance to be a mom.

She asked if I wanted to have an ultrasound done so that I could see my baby. I eagerly said “yes” and sat down on the leather table. I leaned back and the nurse moved the ultrasound probe around my stomach. The nurse showed me my baby’s heartbeat—I couldn’t believe it! That was all I needed to decide that I was going to keep my baby.

The nurse and counselor prayed with me and assured me that I would not be alone on my journey through motherhood. They told me about local pregnancy centers where I could receive resources that would help me find housing, food, and supplies for my child while my boyfriend and I continued to look for jobs.

They also told me that not only will they support me through this, but that God cares deeply for me and will never leave me. I don’t think I have ever felt so loved and cared for.

Feeling uplifted and hopeful, I signed both me and my boyfriend  up for the follow-up program with the pregnancy center. Thanks to the Stork Bus, I left feeling like I truly had a “second chance.”

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared at Save the Storks, and is reprinted here with permission.