Filed Under (Blogs) by Susan on 28-09-2009
I met a young lady last week. She has been going through a lot of pain and I had some time to talk to her. She told me a little about herself. Apparently, her previous two marriages (I think) ended due to the abuse she suffered. She had some broken bones, head injury. I felt horrible for her. Then she began to open up and tell me about an abortion she had when she was about 20 years old. While in the exam room preparing for the abortion, she changed her mind, but the physician who was ready to perform the procedure told her “it was too late.”
She wept and wept. All I could do was sit there with her, and pray for the right words to say to her. I asked her if she knew the people at Triple A Women’s services. They have a great program to help in the grieving process, no matter how many years after your abortion. She told me that she had met with the people there and they were so kind to her. She made a plaque for the baby. She goes as often as she can to bring toys, and other goodies to that plaque. Then she said, “But it will never be enough. I cannot give enough toys to my baby.”
I shared a little of Philip’s testimony. How I was advised to consider abortion as an option and how there were so many concerns I had for this baby’s future. I didn’t have a good job, neither did my husband. We had no good health insurance. This would not be a “simple” decision. She replied, “I guess either way, there is pain involved.”
Yes, there is pain. But we also have hope, and forgiveness. We prayed together, and I will still keep her in my prayers. I provided contacts for her, because she needs to be in a good support network and not continue in misery alone. Please pray for her. There may be so many others like her, even struggling after the trauma of abortion 20 years ago, like my friend. There is hope, and with the help and forgiveness of God, there is peace. Email me and let me know if I can help anyone out there!
God bless you,
Filed Under (Blogs) by Susan on 19-09-2009
After prayer this morning, the words of a simple chorus came to mind.
God still moves
God still moves
In the heart of His people
God still moves
He does not sleep
Nor does he slumber
God still moves,
God still moves!
I thought about Psalms 121. God is the shade on my right hand. He does not sleep or slumber. we can be assured that when we lift our eyes to Him, we know He is our help. Friends, even when the oceans rise and the thunders roar, I pray that you will look to the Lord, and keep your eyes on Him. I know this is hard to do. In my life, I want to run around and “help” God out so that the best outcome is available. But we have to trust Him completely. We have to be still and know He is God. And our God STILL moves.
May God give you peace this week as you seek His face. I love you!
Because every child matters
Susan
Filed Under (Blogs) by Susan on 08-09-2009
I happened to hear a testimony by Wes Stafford last week on the radio. Wes is the president of Compassion International, an organization dedicated to improvement of health outcomes and physical outcomes of children all around the world. This man’s life was not the typical life with a “call” to ministry. He unfortunately suffered during his childhood with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by the hands of people who ran a boarding school for missionary children in Africa. His parents were missionaries in Africa. Wes suffered for years, his childhood was robbed of innocence. He spoke of how as a third grader when he was being taught in his math class how to find the “average” of numbers; Wes averaged how many times he was physically beaten per week. The average was 17.
He shared with his audience the importance of a forgiving spirit. Many people can suffer at the hands of abusers and keep an unforgiving spirit which will result either in overachievers or those with a “beaten” attitude. Neither one is in the will of God, according to Wes. He said after returning to the US for good at age 17, “I was an enraged and bitter adolescent after suffering the years of abuse.” One camp counselor at that time preached on how those we do not forgive will stay on our backs, rent-free, until we forgive them and let them go. The message changed Wes’s life; consequently, years later Compassion International was formed. Wes did not become an overachiever that is driven by the taunting voices of the abusers who tell him he’ll never make it. He did not become an underachiever either, believing the lies the abusers told him when they said he would not amount to anything. With God’s help and grace to forgive the ones who abused him, Wes moved into the plan of God.
I had to pull my car over and weep for Wes. I think about the atrocities the innocent children suffer at the hands of people who either don’t care or have no humanity in themselves. If LWR can just reach one child, my God, it will all be worth it. I urge you, readers, please do everything you can to bring hope and life to the lives of our children. Even the littlest things, do it for the sake of a child. Pray and intercede on behalf of others who are active as advocates for the children.
Because every child matters!
Susan
