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From the Desk of the Director...
Last week I was at a local shopping center with my daughter and a woman in her mid 20’s walked up to me pushing a stroller with a small boy about three years old sleeping inside of it. I did not immediately recognize her and I felt somewhat awkward as our conversation began because she obviously knew me and I was not sure of who she was. She must have seen the apprehension in my face because she asked me if I remembered her. I apologized but admitted that I did not. She introduced herself as Jenny and went on to explained that she had come into the center four years ago when we were on Telegraph for a pregnancy test. She was in her senior year of high school ready to graduate with plans to attend a Michigan college. She had a long list of goals that she wanted to accomplish and a baby was definitely not on that list. As she spoke I began to remember the conversation I had with her years before. She was very determined that a baby would change her life and no matter what I said she felt that ending the pregnancy would be the best solution for her. Jenny glanced down at the sleeping child and then looked up at me with a smile and said, “I guess you can see I changed my mind about not wanting to have a baby. His name is Joshua. It means salvation and he has certainly been my salvation for the past three years. I love him so much. I never had the opportunity to thank you for being there for me the day I found out I was pregnant. You must have thought I was a horrible person for being so negative when we spoke. It was just that I was scared and somewhat in shock. It took me a week to realize that everything you said was right. I just needed to have faith in myself. You will never know how many times I have thought about you over the past few years. I am just sorry that I never took the time to come back into the center and thank you in person.” Jenny and I stood and talked for about 20 minutes about her life. I learned that she was going to college and that she was studying to be an engineer. She told me that she was taking it slow because she did not want to miss any part of Joshua’s young life. She was also working part time and living at home with her parents. She and Joshua’s father were still together and they hoped one day to get married. Later that night I laid in bed thinking about the fact that had I not run into Jenny earlier that day I would have never realized the impact the center had on her life. It also made me realize two other things: failures don’t have to be fatal, good can come from even the negative situations and we all have gifts and talents. I encourage you to find your talents and use them to make life better in this world just by letting your light shine and by doing your part. One day you too may find out the difference you have made in someone else’s life. I wish all of you a healthy New Year. Please continue to keep the center in your daily thoughts and prayers. Laura
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If you are interested in this program or other aspects of the Lennon
Center Programs, Send mail to
thelennoncenter@ameritech.net with
questions or comments about this web site.
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