Do you know someone who is considering an abortion? Maybe they are being told that is their only choice. Kelly’s story so moved me that I asked permission to share it with you. I hope you’ll not only read it but share it with others, especially those who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy.

Here’s Kelly

I grew up in an abusive home and tried to fill the void and erase the pain with relationships. I became pregnant in 1990.

Everyone in my family, including my grandparents and my boyfriend, wanted me to abort my baby. My mom had had an abortion and said it was no big deal. My father, a physician, said it was just a blob of tissue. He could get meds to relax me so I wouldn’t feel nervous about it. Only my brother said not to do it. He’d gone through this with his girlfriend.

Unable to eat, I was hospitalized as Jane Doe so I wouldn’t embarrass my dad in the medical community. I met a sweet nun named Sister Joan. During our many conversations, she told me many women struggled with their decision to abort—even many years afterwards. She provided a list of people I could contact if I needed help. I would end up meeting all those on her list.

I Schedule an Abortion

On July 30, 1990, days before my scheduled abortion (8 weeks), I wrote in my journal: “Lord, please intervene if this is wrong. Please help me. I feel like I’m going to the executioner with nowhere to turn. Help me Lord. Please give me a sign. I trust and believe in you. But I am a follower not a leader. Please guide me to the path you have chosen for me. Please my time is running out. I love you Lord.”

I met Dawn from the Crisis Pregnancy Center. She was on Sister Joan’s list.  She showed me what grew inside me was not a blob of tissue; it was a baby. They introduced other options and offered to help me. I could put my child up for adoption or they could help me with resources if I chose to keep my child.

I Cancel My Abortion 

My brother’s friend asked if he could take me to lunch. He asked how I felt about the abortion. I told him I was angry, but I couldn’t do this alone. He said he knew a woman who deeply regretted her abortion and asked if I would be willing to talk to a friend of his family’s.

He introduced me to Kathy—who happened to be our state’s number one director of the pro-life marches. I told her I was so angry I could spit. But I felt helpless and didn’t want to do this on my own. I didn’t want to give up a child, but I didn’t think I could keep him or her.

She said if that’s how I felt I didn’t have to go through with the abortion. She assured me there was nothing we couldn’t handle together. This is all I needed—someone believed I could do this, and someone would help me through this darkness.

I cancelled the abortion appointment and wrote in my journal: “Thank you Lord for coming through for me.”

I Continue to Wrestle 

However, I continued to wrestle with this decision and the anxiety that was so familiar growing up in an abusive home. Even though I had a degree and was 25 years old, I was basically on my own. My friends said I was foolish to think about having a child without much support. I couldn’t eat or drink water without throwing up; I wanted to die.

Kathy responded to my cry for help. She spoon-fed me water and sought advice from an OBGYN she knew. He offered to let me stay with his family and to pay for my medical care and vitamins. Under his counsel, Kathy nursed me back to health.

While staying with her family, I met Sue who was with a ministry who helped women who suffered from post abortion trauma. She showed me an ultrasound video of a baby sucking its thumb in the womb and told me how her abortion had left her grieving and unable to have children now. Abortion isn’t the removal of a tissue; it’s the shedding of innocent blood.

Kathy introduced me to Karol, a counselor at the pregnancy center—another person on Sister Joan’s list. She invited me to her lake home.

I Find Hope

My eyes were opening to the truth, but it took further persecution and still not feeling sure about how this would work out before I called Sue on Aug. 13, 1990. She asked if I would like to receive Jesus into my life. I said I would.

I repeated her prayer back. She made sure I understood what I’d prayed. After I hung up, I felt different—lighter. I felt the joy of how much God loved me and knew He would care for us. I had new strength, a close friend, and a Father to look out for me and my baby. God would surely turn this around for my good.

I met with Sue for weekly Bible study and church. I grew spiritually. This church taught the Bible and about having a relationship with God.

Three other women gathered around me to support, mentor, and disciple me. I stayed with Sue and her husband Gary a month before and year after my daughter’s birth. God provided me with a new family—the family of God.

I Welcome My Baby Girl!

Sue, Karol, and my mom were present when I delivered a 9 lb. 10 ounce/21 inches long beautiful girl! One look and I knew her name would be Lauren Rose. I gave Kathy a dozen red roses to thank her for my Lauren Rose, not realizing the prolife symbol is a red rose.

On my daughter’s birthday of 2/25/91, my Bible calendar quoted Psalm 127:3 (KJV), “Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward”—one more sign of God’s presence and love. From experience I can say Jesus is a father to the fatherless and husband to the husbandless. He used my daughter’s birth to bring me spiritual life.

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Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your powerful story of God’s grace. Many women who choose abortion do so because they are pressured into believing it is their only choice. Stay tuned next week when I plan to share a couple of videos and more resources to help us better understand the issue and help those caught in this debate on life. In the meantime, check out the resources below.

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Blessings,

Resources

• Join the Virtual March for Life this Friday, January 29, 2021.
• Pregnancy Resource Centers

Photo by Maha Pau M. on Unsplash

Sometimes I link with these great sites:

#InstaEncouraements, #TellHisStory  #Recharge Wednesday, #WorthBeyondRubies #Grace&Truth,