Lana's Story

At Hannah, we have the privilege of working with clients in crisis, and watching God transform their lives and situations with His great love. Lana is one of these women. Read her story and be inspired!

“When I found out I was pregnant, I was living in Conway, Arkansas with the baby’s father. Our relationship had started out so well – friends first, and our families were friends - and things seemed to be going ok - he even seemed excited about the pregnancy at first. But as time went on, he began abusive talk, like he wished I would have had an abortion, and I found out he was drinking and doing drugs. He also started flirting with other women, texting other women, which progressed to meeting up with them. This is my first baby and I wanted to make it work, so I stayed, but one day I decided to confront him about his cheating.  He’d had a bad day at work and became violent, throwing me against the wall and choking me. When I ran outside to call a friend, he texted me to get my stuff and get out, but I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I went back in and told him I couldn’t leave because I had nowhere to go. At that point, he picked me up in the chair I was sitting in and threw me across the room.  I got into the bathroom and found I was bleeding, and because I’d previously had a miscarriage, I drove to the hospital to make sure the baby was still alive, then called my dad and told him what happened. The next day he came to Conway and moved me to my grandmother’s house in Norphlet.

By that time, I was 5 months pregnant. I was depressed, staying in my room, crying and not eating. I asked myself why I let guys do what they did to me. I think part of the reason was that when I was young, my dad showed me the bare minimum of attention, so when a guy paid attention to me it was very powerful. So, I got involved with them, but it felt dirty. Looking back, I see it was God’s grace that I was pregnant when this was happening with my boyfriend, because I couldn’t drink my problems away or sleep them away with other guys.

Seeing the state I was in, my grandmother suggested I go to Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center. The night before my appointment, I was in the shower crying and praying. I had tried to pray before, asking God to make the relationship work, but it kept getting worse and I didn’t feel like my prayers were heard. But that time in the shower it felt like the first time I'd really prayed. I asked God to guide me and give me strength. I didn’t know what I wanted and knew I needed help.

The next day, I came to Hannah and talked to Patti, the Client Services Director, and told her my entire story and the shower incident, and she explained to me that I was finding salvation. Patti told me her own experience about always being in church but one day realizing she had not actually found salvation, and I felt like that was my story. We talked about salvation and the difference between saying you’re saved and actually being saved. When I was young it was like insurance, like a safety net if I needed it.

We prayed together. When I first talked to God and knew He heard me - it felt infinite. It was like being in a harness with Him in control, and I could relax and be at peace - surrendered.

So, after that conversation with Patti, I went home and had that conversation with my gran. I told her about Patti and how much she understood me, and I prayed again. I had been given an easy-to-read Bible at Hannah and I started to read it: I read one verse each day and then wrote what it meant to me in my journal. The more I studied my bible and prayed, the more God started to show Himself – through social media, other people, even the news. He is everywhere! I asked God for strength and guidance, and He gave me that and more. I was no longer crying every day; I no longer missed the father of my child; and I didn’t crave love from a boy the way I used to.

I got back into one of my childhood churches, and after church I talked with one of the ladies and told her I wished the father of my child would leave me alone and be out of my life. She started praying for me and then paused for a second. She told me that because of parental absence I had done things to shatter my soul, because when you sleep with someone outside of marriage, a piece of your soul breaks. That put me in tears because I’d never told anyone about my past, so she didn’t know that was my story – but God told her.

Knowing that God was speaking to me, I continued to pray more and more. At my next appointment, I told Patti I wanted to get re-baptized. That day we spoke about how amazing it feels to really know God and how unworthy we feel when we finally grasp His love. I did nothing but sin against Him, but when I really needed Him, He was there to lift me up. God had loved me so well, and that love allowed me to lose my need to always have love from a guy.

I continued to take classes every Thursday at Hannah and they helped a lot. There are so many things about babies people do not know, from the first trimester to bringing the baby home. Whenever I had a question or needed advice, Mrs. Patti was always there. I learned about God before class, while talking to Patti; I learned about babies during class; and we talked about all of it after class. I had someone to lean on.

As of this interview I am 37 weeks pregnant. I am a little nervous - I don’t think anything can totally prepare you for being responsible for another human - but I have a lot of notes and information from the classes I took!  It is so clear to me now that God guided me to Hannah.  It is where He helped me collect my strength.”

Update: Lana had her baby on March 11, 2024, a healthy 7lb 8oz baby girl she named Kamora. Lana lives with her grandmother and is continuing as a college student, studying to be an ultrasound technician.