For the 2019-2020 school year, we chose the theme #EmbraceHope for Insight @ KU. One of our biggest desires for our organization is for women at KU facing a pregnancy situation to be able to embrace the hope that lies ahead. We LOVE having the opportunity to come alongside them during that emotionally difficult time by providing glimpses of that hope. We provide resources and tangible help to these women and couples and often see them encouraged.
Fall of 2019 marked the start of our third year as a student organization on campus. I’ve heard that it can take 3-5 years to start to establish a presence as an organization, and we saw signs of this last fall. Our number of student members grew to seven (the highest ever for us)! There were several times we had people stop by who had already heard about Insight @ KU or already knew our purpose. We even had a young man drop by on a couple of different occasions who shared he had a 1-year-old, and expressed how happy he was that we were there to support others going through what he went through. With increased presence and recognition, we also had a few encounters where students were more opposed to our presence there, but it was a pretty typical semester for us all in all.
As I’m thinking back to last fall, it seems like so long ago. So much has happened since then. As you can imagine, our Spring 2020 semester looked vastly different due to the global pandemic. We were able to table on campus a few times before spring break, but students never returned to school as it closed for the semester. Even though we are social distancing and students had to finish their semester at home, there are still women who are finding out they are pregnant. Many have reported an increase in the number of women who follow through with an abortion. This time has stirred up a lot of fear in our community both locally and globally.
I firmly believe that our theme for this year #EmbraceHope was no accident. God had this theme picked out for us to speak hope into women’s lives for just a time as this. Now more than ever, women need the HOPE that we can provide. While we were not able to be on campus tabling, we are doing all we can to direct students to Insight Women’s Center. There are many unknowns ahead but even in all the unknowns, I’m thankful for the never-ending, everlasting HOPE that we can seek in God’s purpose and plan. In the worship song Waymaker by Leeland, there’s a line that goes, “Even when I don’t see it. You’re working.” I wholeheartedly believe that God is still working through Insight@KU, and very soon, we will begin to see all of the good things He has done during this time.