Drawing closer to God is what the Christian faith is all about. As each of us cry out, “Lord,” we bring our sinfulness to Him for forgiveness and reconciliation. Ironically though, it is often our sins that keep us from coming to Him. We accept His forgiveness to a point, but often we hold back areas of our lives that we feel are just too polluted for His forgiveness. We fear there are some sins that truly are unforgivable. Like the sin of abortion.
For years, the sin of my abortion kept me from seeking a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. Then one day the burden of the guilt, the shame and deep fear of eternal damnation caused me to call out in desperation for help. Many refer to this kind of desperation as being broken before God. Being broken is neither fun nor easy to go through; I can attest to that. However, I have learned that when we go through the breaking process, we come through it more purified than before; closer to what we were designed to be before sin muddied us.
As I look back on my post-abortion healing process, I know it to be the turning point in my life when I finally surrendered to my Lord and Savior completely.
After that process, I became much more willing and obedient because I knew He loved me unconditionally.
Dear brothers and sisters, as I meet people, and hear their painful stories, and read about many more, I am overwhelmed with the incredible number of people, men, women, boys, girls and families in desperate need of the Gospel. God needs His people living out the Gospel in our lives and sharing in one another’s pain to help them, the lost, the hurting, the needy.
Because of my abortion experience, my heart’s desire is to help post-abortive men and women who are locked in the bondage of their sin, fearing the judgment of God and the Church.
It takes courage and a desire born from God’s own heart in us to be obedient and go where He is calling us to go and to do what He is telling us to do. It is hard, I know!
Back in 2002, as we prepared for the annual March for Life in Washington, I felt it incumbent on me to carry a sign publicly acknowledging the mistake of my abortion. In the weeks prior to the March, I tried to duck the call on my heart, but in the end I knew I had to obey.
I carried my sign for the entire March, as it could not be carried by just anyone! I found out as I walked along why I had to carry that sign as person after person came up to me, walked along for a minute and shared their own abortion experience. They thanked me for carrying the sign and said I was courageous. I told them I wasn’t courageous, I simply said, “I was broken and God’s love healed me.”
Now, over 17,000 women and men are represented when the Silent No More Awareness Campaign attends the annual March for Life, as well as other events throughout the year and around the country. Together, we hold signs that express our regret for past abortions, and that help us to share that we have found healing and forgiveness through Jesus Christ!
I share this with you to encourage you, especially if you feel God is trying to break through an area in your life that you have held back. God is faithful, trustworthy and He loves you unconditionally, for eternity.
By Deacon Georgette Forney, President, Anglicans for Life
