{"id":40853,"date":"2016-01-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/maya-angelous-decision-to-keep-her-child\/"},"modified":"2016-01-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:01:38","slug":"maya-angelous-decision-to-keep-her-child","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/maya-angelous-decision-to-keep-her-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Maya Angelou’s Decision to Keep Her Child"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an essay that originally appeared in Family Circle<\/em> magazine, America's beloved poet Maya Angelou described the birth of her first and only child, a son named Guy.<\/p>\n\n

\n

When I was 16, a boy in high school evinced interest in me, so I had sex with him—just once. And after I came out of that room, I thought, Is that all there is to it? My goodness, I'll never do that again!<\/em> Then, when I found out I was pregnant, I went to the boy and asked him for help, but he said it wasn't his baby and he didn't want any part of it.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I was scared to pieces. Back then, if you had money, there were some girls who got abortions, but I couldn't deal with that idea. Oh, no. No. I knew there was somebody inside me. So I decided to keep the baby.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

[After I tried to hide my pregnancy from my mother], I'll never forget what she [asked me]: "Now tell me this—do you love the boy?" I said no. "Does he love you?" I said no. "Then there's no point in ruining three lives. We are going to have our baby!" [She] was very loving. Very accepting. Not one minute of recrimination. And I never felt any shame.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I'm telling you that the best decision I ever made was keeping that baby! Yes, absolutely. Guy was a delight from the start—so good, so bright, and I can't imagine my life without him. At 17 I got a job as a cook and later as a nightclub waitress … My mother … said, "Remember this: You can always come home." She kept that door open. And every time life kicked me in the belly, I would go home for a few weeks.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I struggled, sure. We lived hand-to-mouth, but it was really heart-to-hand. Guy had love and laughter and a lot of good reading and poetry as a child. Having my son brought out the best in me and enlarged my life. Whatever he missed, he himself is a great father today … Years later, when I was married, I wanted to have more children, but I couldn't conceive. Isn't it wonderful that I had a child at 16? Praise God!<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[405,411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3361,3572,3726,4178,4184,4495,4496,4497,4520,4552,4595,4596,4872],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-40853","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-abortion","tax_ctp_tags-choice","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-human-dignity","tax_ctp_tags-human-worth","tax_ctp_tags-mothers-day","tax_ctp_tags-motherhood","tax_ctp_tags-mothers","tax_ctp_tags-national-sanctity-of-life-day","tax_ctp_tags-obedience","tax_ctp_tags-parenthood","tax_ctp_tags-parenting","tax_ctp_tags-sacrificial-love"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nMaya Angelou's Decision to Keep Her Child - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/maya-angelous-decision-to-keep-her-child\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maya Angelou's Decision to Keep Her Child - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In an essay that originally appeared in Family Circle magazine, America's beloved poet Maya Angelou described the birth of her first and only child, a son named Guy. 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