Walk for Life 2015
If you were one of the almost 250 people participating in the annual Walk for Life at Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center on Saturday, April 18, hopefully you enjoyed a flashback to the 1980’s and left with some images that may linger in your mind, like this one:
My view from our “platform” allowed me a view of 1980’s fashion that would rival the cover of GQ magazine today.
Don’t Remain in the Past
As I shared with the participants, the 1980’s were truly the most memorable and exciting years of my life. I graduated from college, was married, had my first son, and moved to Greensboro, which has been home for thirty years. I can honestly say these were “the best years of my life!”
While it is great to have these fond memories, we know it is not healthy to remain in the past. If the past was a “happy” place, we may measure the “unhappy” places today and have unreasonable expectations, often making comments such as, “If only… I wish… It’ll never be the same….” You know what I’m talking about; we all know how we’d fill in that blank.
At the Care Center, we encounter young women and men every day that share their stories, which more often than not, include a litany of broken relationships and poor sexual choices that have left them wounded, fearful and scarred.
There is Hope for the Future
A favorite song of mine by the group, Point of Grace is Heal the Wound. I cannot get these lyrics out of my mind:
“Heal the wound, but leave the scar, a reminder of how merciful You are. I am broken, torn apart. Take the pieces of this broken heart.”
I’ve shared these lines with our staff on a couple of occasions. I’ve even said I really want to call them and ask what those words are referring to in her life. My assumption is there was a relationship in her life that spiraled out of control; perhaps an unplanned pregnancy; perhaps an abortion that has left the scar.
I’m not sure about her, but I am sure those lyrics are timeless and can be used to minister to these young women and men who come in to the Care Center every day sharing their stories with us.
As we look forward to our next 30 years of serving them, I am also sure we will continue to share the Good News of the God we know who “heals those wounds….” Hopefully, we will be doing that on a mobile unit we hope to purchase this year because our future involves being more visible and accessible in the community.
I have learned that you cannot live in the past, although it is sometimes fun to pull out the photo albums (because we didn’t have an iPad to store our photos on!!) and laugh your way through them!
Stay Tuned for Our Fundraising Outcome
Stay tuned for the fundraising outcome of our Walk. We’ll let you know what it is tomorrow!
I believe the Care Center’s best days are ahead. Hopefully you too will agree with us: the future’s so bright, you gotta wear shades!
Mary Jones is our Development Events Manager. Her best years were in the 80’s.