"Dr. Ravelo greets Keila and Carlos in Spanish and clears up some misinformation from their last appointment. She is eleven weeks pregnant, not far enough along for a sonogram. She has a rash on her arms that is related to the pregnancy but can be treated with cream. She and Carlos are all smiles when he says he will be seeing them going forward. A Puerto Rican nurse goes over prenatal care with Keila. Then Dr. Ravelo asks her to lie down and brings out a heart monitor. A few slurpy sounds later and a clear, fluttery fetal heartbeat pounds through the monitor. Carlos's eyes fill instantly with tears and he squeezes Keila's arm. "Te quiero. Te quiero," he tells her and kisses both sides of her face and then the top of her head" (Latino In America by Soledad O'Brien.)
Carlos and Keila were born in Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth of the United States. Their first language is Spanish. They moved to Orlando, Florida to earn more money.
The Chinese invented paper money which was originally called flying money. Carlos and Keila feel that money is difficult to catch. Although Keila has a teaching certificate for Kindergarten through third grade, she doesn't speak English well enough to work in Orlando at a level that matches her education. Keila works at Wendy's. There is a long waiting list to secure a teaching job in Puerto Rico. Carlos was a police officer in Puerto Rico. He was hoping to make more money in Orlando. Yet Carlos has failed an exam to become a sheriff in Orlando because of inadequate comprehension of English. He is studying English to try to take the sheriff's exam again.
Economically it's not the right time for Keila and Carlos to be having a baby. Jazz, R&B and Gospel singer Lizz Wright sings "(I've Got to Use My) Imagination," a remake of a Gladys Knight and the Pips' song, on her Fellowship album. It's a song about being creative in overcoming challenging situations. Instead of viewing their baby as a problem and killing their child through abortion as the solution, Carlos and Keila recognize that finding employment is a problem to overcome.
Another problem that Keila and Carlos have is that they chose to have sex before marriage. It's wonderful that they love each other, are choosing life for their baby and are planning to get married. It's sad that they are under pressure that could have been avoided. Less stress and more satisfaction is to be found in sex inside of marriage. Proverbs 5:15-19 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "You should be faithful to your wife, just as you take water from your own well. And don’t be like a stream from which just any woman may take a drink. Save yourself for your wife and don’t have sex with other women. Be happy with the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful, just like a deer; you should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love."
The pressure of unplanned, out-of-wedlock pregnancies is ancient and modern and affects people of all economic levels. According to Kebra Negast (The Glory of Kings,) the Queen of Sheba, known as Makeda in Ethiopia, traveled to Jerusalem, Israel to visit King Solomon. Makeda didn't stay in Jerusalem even though she conceived a son with Solomon. Makeda's and Solomon's son, Menelik I, was born in Ethiopia.
Menelik missed out on living with his father and developing a close relationship with his father. Later in life Menelik traveled to Israel and met his father, Solomon. Menelik came back to Ethiopia with the Ark of the Covenant. Some Ethiopians say the Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia today.
Your child may not be earthly royalty, but no matter how the child was conceived God values the child's life and desires for both parents and child to become God's reinas y reyes (queens and kings), people who are so thankful for receiving an eternal relationship with God that they regularly study His Bible to know what is good to apply to every part of their life. God loves us and wants what is good for us. John 10:10 Amplified Bible says, "... I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
What are you thankful for from God and your parents? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
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