On 11.11.11, I went to Detroit with several coworkers to TheCall Detroit. If you haven't heard of TheCall, it's a group that gathers in a different location each time to have 24 hours of solemn prayer and fasting- all to cry out to God on behalf of our nation. It's no secret that our nation is going down the drain. I used to think that it was just a perception thing, and that as I got older and things became more important to me, that I was just more knowledgeable of the problems we face. But the Word says that we will see a moral decline before the return of Jesus, so I think that it'll just get worse and worse each year until He comes back. I know that sounds bad, but, it's actually quite exciting... you know, except for the moral decline part. :)
If you don't know what I do for a living, let me give you a little history about why this event in Detroit was especially meaningful for me...
7 years ago, I was in the crossroads of learning what it means to have the Holy Spirit as a real part of my life. Of course, I said that I had a personal relationship with Christ, but I don't know that I truly understood that relationship until the Holy Spirit was made real to me. I will always thank the Lord for bringing people like Cherry Russell, Jere Yeager, and Bob and Ann Armstrong into my life. I was just "walking out life" and they were always there to lend a listening ear, some kind advice, and point me to the scripture for my current question of the hour.
I had always been "in the grey area" about the topic of abortion. And before you go hit the "x" button, at least hear me out. It had always been my opinion that women should be allowed to do whatever they wanted involving their own bodies, including abortion if they felt it necessary. After all, what about pregnancies that resulted from rape? Well, it was during that time that I was getting to know the Lord, that I went on a little trip to North Carolina where I came to know a man named Lou Engle. Lou had started this group called Bound4Life, and they started TheCall. It was at a conference in North Carolina where I was dramatically impacted on the topic of abortion. Up until this time, I'm not even sure that I knew what an actual abortion involved. But, once the procedure itself was revealed to me (I'll spare you the details- if you don't know though, I'm happy to explain... or there's always google), I was mortified that I had ever considered it "no big deal." And not only that, but I learned that less than 1% of rapes end in pregnancy. And since then, I have met people who were children of rape victims, and I have to say that not only do I admire their mothers, but I'm so glad that they're alive! Needless to say, my views on abortion had changed. And God had used Lou Engle to do it.
Fast forward 3 years. I got a job at Care Net as the donor relations assistant. Care Net is an umbrella organization which supports a network of pregnancy centers across the nation and Canada. God opened a door for us to be a part of this year's event in Detroit for TheCall, and so we went. During one of our meetings before the event, I realized that it had been 7 years since I had become pro-life. The number 7 means completion, so I felt like the Lord was bringing me full circle to where He had first begun this work in me. I know that there is so much in store that I have no idea about... but I'm excited to see what He's going to do through all of this.
If you've made it this far, and you disagree with my stance on the life issue, that's okay. I didn't write this to change any minds, nor do I try to push the issue on anyone. That never did anything to change my mind in the past either. It was the Lord who changed my mind- using the facts- and I wasn't knowledgeable about it before. But I am now. And there's one other part to this... if you've had an abortion and you're still thinking about it, or maybe you feel guilty about it, or maybe you just can't shake the memory of it- there is healing for that. I know for a fact that God wants to heal you. And I'm going out on a limb here by even writing this post, so I'll go a little bit further. If you need someone to talk to, I am willing to be a listening ear, or I can put you in touch with someone who can help. Or, if you want it to be completely anonymous, you can call 1-800-395-HELP and they can help you as well. Or, you can also pass that number along to anyone you know who might need it.
Not trying to be a commercial here- I have just really had this on my heart lately. Maybe you've never experienced this, and you're reading this thinking "what a weird post." But if there's only one person who needed to read this today, then it was totally worth it.
