I found myself sitting in the waiting room of Planned Parenthood the other day with a 15 year-old girl who had asked me to take her to get birth control. Her twin sister recently had a baby, and after that traumatic experience :) she decided she didn't want to have the same fate. We were sitting there as she filled out all the paperwork, and it was quite humorous the questions she would ask me to "explain" to her. (Let's just say that a few of them I told her if she didn't know already, I didn't want to be the one to answer for her!) It's interesting to see how my perspective on certain things have changed in the past few years. Honestly, I don't think I ever would've imagined taking a teenage girl to get birth control, yet there I sat.
It's also been really strange since the other sister had her baby. I keep thinking of what my life would be like if I'd had a child at 15 years old. He'd already be 9. WOW! I can't even imagine how her life will be so different from what she's known up to this point. I'm sad for her lost childhood. I'm scared that she won't have any idea how to be a parent. And I just keep thinking, "Is this it? Is this going to be her life?"
Sometimes a dream dies of its own volition, and sometimes it's killed. Sometimes it gets buried and we just forget it's there. But I have to admit, as these two sisters were sitting in my office a few days ago telling me, "My life's not over. I can still be anything I want to be, " I couldn't help but feel joy. Joy that, at least for now, their dreams are still alive. And I pray to God that they will not only remain alive, but one day be realized.

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