Photo by Rosie Sun on Unsplash
I have had the privilege over the past 5 years to present bible-based healing materials to post-abortive women, and to work through the materials together with them. Participating in this kind of healing from my own abortion changed me, and I’ve witnessed these healing groups change others. Here are my top three takeaways from post-abortive healing groups.
(1) Inviting God Into Your Past Hurts Can Strengthen Your Future
During our 8 week healing group, we study the story in the Bible of Hagar. Hagar was the servant of Abram and Sarai. Life gets unfair for Hagar. She is pregnant and scared, and runs away from her masters.
She stops at a well and an angel talks with her. This Godly messenger tells her to return to her home and submit. But, the angel also tells her that “the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Genesis 16:11).
With this confidence of knowing that God sees her in her troubles, she returns and submits. Likewise, part of healing involves returning to our past mistakes and submitting, taking personal responsibility. Like Hagar, we can do this with confidence that we have a God in Heaven who truly sees us! We can submit with our Savior as our partner, learn what we need to learn, and move forward confidently in our lives.
(2) Nothing Is Counted Out of His Grace
For a long time, I thought I had to suffer for my past mistakes to prove that they were mistakes. I thought my suffering was not only what I deserved, but a way for me to prove to the world that I knew what I did was wrong. I learned through healing with Christ that to honor his death and embrace true repentance is to replace regret with peace, which is true rest for the soul. That can only be done through Jesus Christ.
Your abortion and past mistakes are not counted out of the grace of the atonement of Jesus Christ. He covers them for you- if you’ll accept it.
I’ve witnessed women accept responsibility for their actions, accept the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, then realize a life where they are free of regret and can function in gratitude and grace. What a gift!
(3) Mothers Are Resilient
Each time I have held a healing group where post-abortive women come together to learn from each other and share their stories, I am inspired and awe-struck. Our humble meetings become a sacred environment of mothers who trust each other and confide in each other. We are designed to learn from one another. We gain knowledge from sharing our wisdom with one another, and as we invite God into the space where we are doing these things, he gives our hearts peace and our souls rest. A deeper bond to our babies lost to abortion is born in place of our pain and trauma.
If you don’t need healing from an abortion, maybe someone who you know does. Take courage and share Utah Abortion Healing’s message of peace and joy through Jesus Christ!
To contact Utah Abortion Healing text or call 801-505-6581.