Month: March 2024

Be Bold, Tell Your Story

For years I hesitated to tell how I sat on a doctors table waiting to have an abortion. How I felt like God came in the room and urged me to leave. How it felt as though He said, “Ellen, I promise, if walk out everything would be ok.” How I got dressed and left.

I hesitated because I never wanted a woman who chose abortion to feel like God treated me differently by speaking into my heart and not theirs. 

But that all changed one weekend when I attended a Care Ministry conference where my roommate was a woman I’d never met. That first night, she shared with me how she came to be a volunteer in our churches Abortion Recovery Ministry. She told me how for years she was depressed and could not figure out why. Then after years of medication and therapy, she found herself sitting in the group she now helps facilitate. And as a part of the group therapy, she named her baby and had a memorial service for her. That’s when the healing began that eventually set her free from her depression. 

Hesitantly, I shared my abortion clinic story with her. And her response was, “I heard that voice too, only I ignored it.” 

That’s when I realized there was nothing special about my encounter with God. That He speaks to all of us in those kinds of situations. Only we tend to chalk it up to conscience, or intuition, or a gut feeling. But God is consistent and He loves us all. But we tend to cover our ears and build walls around our hearts to keep out our creator.

A few years ago, I posted a pro-life message on social media. In it, I declared how grateful I am for that gentle voice that told me to leave that clinic.

Only, that message triggered a few of my pro-abortion followers who then attacked me and called me names. How dare I be insensitive to those who have had abortions. 

But I stuck to my story, and the story told to me by my roommate at the conference. I stuck to what I’ve seen and heard from others who regret their abortions. Because too many women have been deeply wounded by the lie that an abortion affect them for the rest of their lives.

I can’t get in the weeds to defend my pro-life views as well as I can just tell my story. And perhaps that’s the best way to share the gospel.

There we were, two strangers in a hotel telling similar stories with two very different outcomes. Both stories showed that regardless of what choice we have made, God continues to nudge us to invite Him into the discussion. And when we do, He not only changes us, but uses our story to reach others.

If you have a story like this, please put, “God nudged me too and it changed my life” in the comments. I will then pray for God to use your story to share His Gospel.

#abortionhurtswomen #tellyourstory #godisgoodalways #godhealsbrokenhearts #chooselife

How Do You Fill Your Heart?

Several years ago, on a visit to my mother’s grave, I called my aunt from the cemetery because it always touched her that I went. I wasn’t sure she’d know it was me since dementia had taken much of her short-term memory. But I made the call anyway.

After the hello’s, I told her where I was. “Oh honey,” she said. “I can’t think about that right now. But don’t go away. I want you to hear this. Are you listening?”

“Yes, Aunt Jeanne Marie. I’m listening.”

“Ok, I want you to understand this.” Then she paused and I heard her draw in a deep breath. 

“Honey, you are loved with the simplicity of a child’s love. Do you know what I mean?”

The words fell gently on my heart. Their tenderness indicative of their deliverer. And years of my relationship with this beautiful woman flowed over me as I was reminded of how blessed I am to have her in my life.

You see – Aunt Jeanne Marie spent a lifetime living out Philippians 4:8. From a young age, she chose to focus on what was true, noble, and right. And she filled her heart to the brim with stuff that was pure, lovely, and admirable. 

So, at 89 years old, what came out of her mouth was the overflow of years of what she took in. And in spite of the wear and tear on her mind, her heart couldn’t help but live out Luke 6:45 – For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

When I’m faced with a crisis, I wrestle with God. And in the wrestling, I shake my fist at Him and ask WHY? After my temper tantrum, I sit down and think of my aunt. Which inspires me to rummage through the ashes in search of something beautiful to offset my rage. I know my heart will never be as full as hers. But because of her, I’m determined to stay in the search.

What crisis of yours did God turn from ashes to beauty? How are you filling your heart?