Do you ever wonder what it would be like for your life to change dramatically in a matter of minutes? What that one thing could be that changes the course of your life? Would you be scared? Calm? Would you be so excited that you’d want to shout the change from the rooftop, or would you be so upset that you’d want to hide in the darkest depths of yourself? What would drive you to do one or the other?

I wouldn’t know. Because I’ve never had something that dramatic happen to me. But I know someone who it has happened to. She’s 24 years old, bright, pretty, athletic, and a real partier. Now she’s pregnant. Now…she’s calm.
"I just knew," she said to me, "it’s in God’s hands now."
"Everything happens for a reason," I said back. She agreed, and I could hear her smiling over the phone, happy that I understood.
"Did you tell your parents?"
"Yeah."
"How’d they react?"
She took a minute to answer, indicating tension between herself and her family. She finally spoke. She told me that her mother was very supportive but that her sister said it would ruin her life, and her brother didn’t know yet.
Nothing about her father. I wondered but didn’t say anything. "You’re the one who knows what’s best for you," I said. In my head, I was already seeing all the ways it was going to change things between us. Or was it? I was excited for her, called her "Mama" several times. I wanted to rub her belly and watch her start to show. Am I a hypocrite?

No, I don’t think so. I had conflicting emotions about her position. Yet I could be happy for her as well as nervous for her. I’m only human, right? I couldn’t even imagine being in her position. Couldn’t imagine being calm, being happy. Couldn’t imagine keeping the baby.

But I’m not her. And she’s not me.