“YOU CAN’T NAME HIM JESUS”
“I’m an avid couponer. I received some free diapers because of my couponing, and I was planning to sell them online but never got around to it. I needed to clear some space in my house, so I decided to try to donate them quickly. I remembered the Center, so I stopped by and dropped them off.”
It had been a long time since Katie’s last visit. Rewind 24 years:
“I was 18 years old and had just returned to Minnesota to live with my parents. Before that time, I had been living in Florida with my grandparents. My grandpa was an Anglican priest.”
Soon after her move to Minnesota, Katie found herself taking a home pregnancy test. She was wildly relieved to find the line on the test read ‘negative’. But later in the day, as she searched her garbage can for a missing sales receipt, she glanced down and saw that the same test now showed a positive reading.
At her first opportunity, she headed for Women’s Life Care Center, then located in North St. Paul. Having driven by the Center dozens of times she had seen the signage for free pregnancy help. As she told her story to an advocate at the Center, the advocate asked: “What is your biggest concern?”
“Telling people,” Katie responded. The advocate offered to accompany Katie when she told family members. Unfortunately, Katie did face pressure to abort her baby. Having been influenced strongly by her Christian, pro-life grandfather, Katie knew that she would carry her baby. Staff at Women’s Life Care Center helped Katie find an apartment, and they found the money for her damage deposit. They equipped Katie with the things she needed for her baby, taught her about pregnancy and parenting and kept in constant contact with her throughout the pregnancy and afterward.
Back in Florida, Katie’s grandfather was her “rock”. When Katie had nervously called to inform him about her pregnancy, there was a long period of silence on the other end of the phone. Then, he told Katie that he strongly hoped that she was planning to continue her pregnancy. “Why were you quiet for so long?” Katie asked. “I was praying about what to say,” he responded. Utterly relieved, Katie and her grandfather had a good talk after that, ending with her grandpa’s familiar humor: “. . . and if you think that just because your baby is going to be born around Christmas time, you’re going to call him Jesus, you can think again.” Katie’s baby was born in December, 1999. She named him Caleb – which means ‘faithful to God’.
Grandpa became his #1 fan. “Grandpa called me every single day to ask about him. Grandpa even baptized him. . . but when he proclaimed my baby’s name, he put his own name first. He named him Thomas Caleb. He was so proud of him.” Katie’s son is now 23. He graduated from high school at 16, and from an Ivy League university at 21 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He’s been a constant source of support and encouragement to his mother. “He has stuck by me through a lot,” says Katie. “He always says: “We’ll get through it, mom!”