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b'Ashley stopped in front of the school doors and took a deep breath. Over winter break, her stomach had grown considerably larger, and it was impossible to hide it anymore. But if she didn\\u2019t go in, she would be late for class. \\u201cWho cares?\\u201d She thought. She wished she could just leave, but where would she go? She pushed through the swarm of teenagers to her locker. As she hung up her coat, Ashley felt a shiver go down her neck. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a group of girls from church\\u2014staring at her. One of them whispered, another giggled. Ashley\\u2019s face burned. She grabbed her binder, shoved her backpack into her locker as fast as she could, and started walking toward her first class on the far side of the building. Hugging her binder, Ashley kept her head down, but she could still feel the eyes on her belly. Then she heard someone cough, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Preggers,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d and a group of guys snickered. She would not cry. She would not cry.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Hey Ash, I\\u2019ve been looking for you.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Miles came up alongside her. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief and tried to smile, but that\\u2019s hard to do when you\\u2019re trying to keep tears from leaking out. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153You sure you want to be seen with me?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d she said.\\nMiles held her hand gently. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Hey, I\\u2019m not leaving you guys to fend for yourselves. You\\u2019re an awesome mom, and I\\u2019m pretty set on being an awesome dad.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Then Ashley did smile. As they walked through the halls together, the glances still stung but not quite as bad.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153This morning,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Ashley said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I was reading Psalm 23, and that\\u2019s what this feels like.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d \\nMiles tilted his head. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Which part?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nAshley pulled a crumpled paper from her pocket. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I wrote it down: Even though Iwalk through the valley of the shadow of death\\u2026\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d She offered the paper to Miles, and he read the rest. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153\\u2026I will fear no evil, for you are with me.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nAshley nodded. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153That verse is the reason I came to school at all today. But when my friends won\\u2019t even look me in the eyes, it\\u2019s hard to remember God is with me. So, I guess, thanks for being here. It helps me remember that God still cares about me.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nMiles rubbed the back of his neck. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I\\u2019m sorry. Sorry you have to go through all this. Sorry we didn\\u2019t\\u2026that I didn\\u2019t help us stop. I\\u2014I want to be here though. With you. I don\\u2019t know what it looks like to follow Jesus now, but I want to.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Me too,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Ashley said. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Maybe we could talk to Pastor Carlos?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nMiles pulled out his phone. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Yeah, I\\u2019ll text him right now.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Ashley stopped and Miles nearly bumped into her.\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Oof!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d He steadied himself. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Sorry, are you okay?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nAshley laughed. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I\\u2019m not that fragile.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d She bumped his arm with a smile. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153This is my class, and you should probably head to yours if you want to be on time.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n Miles put his phone in his pocket. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Sent! Okay, can I walk you to your second class after?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153But won\\u2019t you be late to your class then?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nMiles shrugged. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Maybe, but this is more important.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d He squeezed her hand and whispered, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I\\u2019ll be praying for you.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d She whispered back, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153You too.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d \\u2022 Hannah Howe\\n\\u2022 While the characters in this fictional story didn\\u2019t follow God\\u2019s good plan for sex and marriage, God still loves them and their baby, and He is still working in their lives. People often make fun of us when we mess up, but God never makes fun of us. Instead, He wants to help us when we fail. How can you come alongside someone who is struggling and remind them God loves them?\\n\\u2022 God created sex for marriage\\u2014embodying the total, permanent union of one man and one woman. And this union points to the union of Jesus Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-33). How might the gospel affect the w'