You mentioned not being able to imagine what will happen – I don’t now specifically either, but I do know this: God will take care of you. In a few months there’s going to be a baby and God will be just as real then as He was last week, just as sure and as strong as He was when there was no baby. He will walk you through this, all four of you. I don’t know how He will provide but he will because He loves you. I think the best thing to do now is get as much support as you can. Do you have people praying for you? Are there others who have gone through this that can help? We have free, private mentoring available on this site. If you’d like to request a mentor, you can use this form. As you are able to, talk to your daughter. Has she graduated high school yet? Is there any way for her to take accelerated classes so that she can graduate before the baby comes? Are online classes an option for her?

You need to be very gentle with yourself right now. Remember that this is in no way your fault, nor is it a reflection of your parenting skills. You didn’t choose this, you didn’t make this happen. It’s hard when our kids start making choices on their own that have such a huge impact not just on their own lives but on ours as well. it speaks volumes about what a good job you’ve done that in a crisis like this your daughter came to you and told you. She didn’t hide it away, she didn’t have an abortion and not say a word to you, she came to you because she knows that you love her and she believes that you can help. That is a parenting success. It might not feel like one right now, but trust me, it is. You are in this together, you don’t have the agony of having to watch this from far away, unable to help. This is a very good thing. In time you may be able to speak to your daughter about her boyfriend and whether or not this is a relationship that should continue but you may find that now is not a good time for that. Remember that on top of all of the emotions that she is feeling she has a large quantity of pregnancy hormones coursing through her body.

Life will never be the same, that’s true. But what it is going to turn into isn’t just up to you or to your daughter. God is at work, writing the story of your lives and this is not where the story ends. I know that you are not in a place to wonder happily about this baby just yet, but I can’t help but wonder who he or she will grow up to be? Isn’t it amazing to know that God has already numbered the days and as soon as hair has formed on that tiny head He’ll set to work counting them. Know also that God sees your tears, He does not leave you to cry alone in the dark. Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (NLT) I love that way that verse is translated in The Message, “You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.” Remember that when this keeps you up at night. God is there with you in the dark.

Can I pray for you right now? “Dear Father, I pray that you would be with April right now. Be with her daughter and with the baby you have formed. Be with April’s husband as they try to figure out what this unknown future will look like. I pray that you would hold her heart gently in your hands, that you would comfort her in her sorrow and gather together the pieces of her broken dream. You promise in your word that you know the plans you have for us, plans to give us hope and a future. I pray that right now for April and her family. They need that hope and they need that future. You promised, and I believe that your promises stand much stronger than any decision I could make, any decision April or her daughter could make. So we’re standing on that Father because right now you’re all we’ve got. Make a way where there is no way. Be with them in this grief just as surely as you will be with them when the time comes to rejoice. Thank you that no baby is ever a mistake. We can join our bodies but only you can speak life into being. We don’t know why you spoke, but you did and so we cling to your promise that you work for our good. Thank you for loving us more than we can understand. In your name, Amen.”

Blessings to you and your family.