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Jada sat on the bathroom floor, sweating and scared, staring at the timer on her phone. She didn\u2019t know how she would explain this after she got the results. \u201cHow did we let things go so far? she thought. \u201cWhat happened to following God\u2019s plan for sex and marriage? What will Zach say?\u201d The timer went off, and she reached up to grab the plastic stick from the counter. She had tried so hard not to look at it while waiting. Holding her breath, she examined the results. \u201cWait a minute \u201d She frowned, picking up the packaging the stick had come in. \u201cThat means All this stress \u201d Jada drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. \u201cEven if I\u2019m not pregnant, what Zach and I did was still wrong.\u201d She hugged her knees and dropped her head down, choking back tears of shame and relief. Her mom knocked on the door, and Jada opened it without thinking. She fell into the arms of her motherthe one who had been there for her when her dad abandoned them and who had comforted her each night she had cried for him. Jada clung to her mom, ignoring the fact that she was going to see the test and know about all she\u2019d done. It\u2019s okay. You\u2019re okay. Her mom rubbed her back. Oh, sweetheart, we\u2019ll figure this out. We\u2019ll make a home for this baby. No I\u2019m not Jada tried to explain things, but her tears kept her from speaking. We\u2019ll figure this out, Mom said. God has shown grace to me many times, and He will show grace to you and Zach and your little one. Jada squeezed her eyes shut. \u201cGrace?\u201d she thought. \u201cI don\u2019t deserve grace.\u201d After a few minutes, Jada pulled back from her mom. It was negative. Oh. Mom\u2019s brows lifted. But it could have been positive, Mom, Jada said quietly. I am so sorry. She stroked Jada\u2019s hair and said, Negative or positive, God\u2019s grace is enough. You\u2019re not mad? Jada asked. You told me about God\u2019s design for sex and marriage, and I didn\u2019t God\u2019s grace, Jada, Mom said tenderly. We all need His forgiveness. When we come to God, He is so willing to forgive, to restore what\u2019s been lost and heal what\u2019s been broken. What Jesus has done is enough to forgive all your sins, including this one. You\u2019re still His. He loves you, and He doesn\u2019t leave you, no matter what. Grace. After all the shame. All the guilt. Could God really forgive me? Held there in her mom\u2019s arms, Jada sensed God\u2019s invitation to come and be held by Him. Grace sounded like just what she needed. Emily Acker Have you ever done something that caused you to feel a deep sense of shame? Through Jesus\u2019 life, death, and resurrection, we see that God\u2019s grace runs deeper than our shame. If we\u2019ve put our trust in Jesus, we are perfect in God\u2019s eyes, all of our sin washed away (you can read more about this on our \u201cKnow Jesus\u201d page). How could this truth free you to follow Jesus with love and joy? God created sex to be the act of marriagethe total, permanent union of one man and one woman. And that union points to the union of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-33). How does the gospel affect the way you view sex and marriage? If you\u2019ve sinned sexually in any way and want to start over in following God\u2019s good plan for sex and marriage, there is so much hope. Once you\u2019ve put your trust in Jesus\u2019 life, death, and resurrection, you\u2019ve been washed clean of every sin, and the Holy Spirit is in you, equipping and empowering you to run away from every sexual sinincluding lust (1 Corinthians 6:18; 10:13). If you are part of an unmarried couple wanting to step back from sex and empower each other to pursue gospel-centered sexuality, who are trusted Christians who could support and guide you, such as pastors, counselors, parents, or other mentors? If you struggle with lust or any other sexual sin, who are trusted Christians you can talk to? No matter what the circumstances are, a baby is always someone to celebrate, a wonderful new person who God has carefully created in His image (Psalm 127:3). God\u2019s timing is pe...