Olyvia’s Story

It was twenty-six years ago I sat across from a high risk OBGYN as he explained to me this little boy I was carrying appeared to have multiple birth defects due to a drug I was taking for epilepsy. These expected birth defects would make the quality of life for my baby and me very poor; he suggested I abort. 

I was only sixteen years old, an honor roll student, with a goal of becoming a lawyer. I was in love with my high school boyfriend and knew he and his family were not supportive of me keeping the baby. I was confused, angry, sad, and ashamed and wanted it all to go away. Somehow I had convinced myself this could never happen to me!

This doctor reminded me that I had my whole life before me and bringing a fetus into the world would only hurt me and that fetus in the long term. I remember thinking how much I hated the word fetus and at the same time how much I hated myself. I was already so full of fear and was even more confused and lost; yet something rose up in me and I told the expert that abortion wasn't an option. 

A few weeks later I was struggling and wondering if I was making the right choice for this little baby and myself. I was approached by a woman who didn't know me or my story but was brave enough to share with me what God had instructed her to say. She sat down beside me, put her hand on my expanding stomach and spoke words which would begin to change the trajectory of how I viewed everything. She said, "God told me to tell you this baby you’re carrying is a girl. She will be completely healthy and she will be a mouthpiece for the broken.”

On July 15, 1992, a beautiful, healthy, baby girl was born and I stared in awe of how two things that God had said would happen, actually did! As Bekkah grew I noticed how easily she spoke up for those who were less fortunate and even at a young age her passion for injustice to be remedied took center stage in her heart and mind. I have watched in the last 5 years as the Lord has used her to speak up for victims of human trafficking and work tirelessly to help them each find healing and freedom.Today, the young woman who was supposed to be a boy with multiple birth defects accepted the job title: State of Ohio Human Trafficking Liaison. She will be the only liaison in this great state BUT she will not be alone! I often think about all of the young women who may have not found freedom from trafficking if Bekkah wasn’t here; you can never fully know what little world changer is in your womb.

If I could go back and talk to that scared sixteen year old girl I would say the following: 

1. Don’t hate yourself! Embrace and love yourself enough to realize you are stronger than what you think. 

2. God knew all about this baby long before you even knew she existed. Trust Him with your life and your little baby’s life! “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16

3. God created you and this baby for a purpose; don’t allow fear to keep you from missing God’s gift to you and the world! Jeremiah 1:5, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

4. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it! I lost friends and found being a single mom was not easy at all. Sleepless nights and scraping pennies to buy diapers was a daily event early on. However, those little things were far outweighed by Bekkah’s first steps, her little laugh, her inquisitive nature and her desire to run through life at full speed. I look at my daughter 26 years later and am beyond thankful that I chose not to abort! I am so much better because her life made me reevaluate my life and goals. 

5. Having Bekkah taught me what love was supposed to be. I never really knew how to love until I met Jesus and held this little life which was completely dependent on me. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Corinthians 13:4-8