Dear Friend
Michele, the author of this letter that she posted on Facebook, is one of many heroes I know. She works in a pregnancy center – the frontline prolife work. I’ve been to her center. I’ve been to the schools with her. She’s the real deal – caring deeply, consistently teaching truth, and always available for emotional heartache associated with her work.
Please read this and share it widely. If this is personally relevant, reach out to Michele or to someone in your local community. Reach out to me. I agree with everything she writes and am grateful she’s allowing me to share it because she said it much better than I could have.
Praying….
Dear Friend,
This morning, my heart is heavy for you. All week I’ve watched people posting about the new law in New York, and I wonder how you are doing. I get it. I am saddened by laws that fail to protect our most vulnerable (born or pre-born).
However, this morning, my heart hurts the most for the girl you were who felt trapped into making that abortion decision. I know that girl. I handed her Jolly Ranchers and Hershey Kisses in the halls at school because, hey, life is rough! In my office, I’ve listened to her, cried with her, prayed with her, shared truth with her, loved on her. I’ve watched as you wrestled with life, feeling trapped in your relationship, with seemingly no way out.
You needed a safe place to tell your stories and unpack the messy. You slept in your car, in the tunnels on the school playground or in closets at your friend’s house because you were scared to go home. You moved in with your boyfriend to avoid abuse from Dad. You felt rejection from your “Christian” friends because your survival mode included a desperate search for safety and acceptance, and it surely wasn’t coming from them.
I’ve seen you agonize over your positive pregnancy test, bursting into tears before I could say a single word. I’ve watched you bite your lip and blink back tears on the ultrasound table as the tiny human within you waved his tiny hands and kicked his miniature feet. I’ve heard the quiver in your voice as you tell me you are NO WAY ready to be a Mom.
I’ve listened as you relived the horror of the day you lost your Baby. You’ve recounted every detail in agonizing clarity, knowing that your shame would only be removed in the breaking of the silence. You were allowed to safely verbalize your anger at those around you- Mom, Dad, Boyfriend, the Abortionist, and even God. I handed you tissues as you cried out to God for mercy and forgiveness for a decision you had very little say in.
Girl, I know you saw the posts this week. I know you read the comments, and saw them call you sickening, evil, a murderer, a monster, a curse. I am sorry. I am so, so sorry.
Dear One, please don’t conclude that God can’t love you. I know it is easy to assume that you will never be welcomed into any church. I know it would be easy to go on self-medicating in order to get through the next 24 hours. I get it that another layer of self-applied Band-Aids now covers the gaping, bleeding wound in your heart.
But girl, there are a few out here who will listen without judging and will love without pretense. Please don’t scroll on by. Reach out. (Not publicly. I get it. But PM me.) I will help you find some help. Because you weren’t made to live shattered and broken. You were made to live glorious, beautiful, and free.
And you can.
Jesus can put all the shattered pieces of your heart back together. Let me know if you want to let Him do that.
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Michele has spent 17½ years working in a Pregnancy Resource Center in rural WI, offering support and care to women who are facing unexpected pregnancy, providing life affirming alternatives to abortion, and facilitating programs that offer hope and healing through Jesus Christ for those who have chosen abortion. She also spends time every week in area schools, speaking to small groups of students regarding healthy relationships and saving sexual expression for marriage. Their center also offers help to survivors of sexual abuse by connecting them to appropriate resources within the community. If you are looking for help for yourself or somebody you know, feel free to reach out using the form on their website. www.ladysmithcarenet.com
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