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Posts Tagged ‘Word of Hope’

Those Who Mourn Need a Good Shepherd

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A woman who faces the reality of her abortion is in need of someone else whom God has named.  That person is you.  It is me.  We are her friends.  Comforters.  Encouragers.  We are imitators of the Good Shepherd who walks beside the heavy-hearted through a dark valley toward “goodness and mercy.”  A mother who mourns the loss of her child needs a Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18).

You and I must take care not to soften the seriousness of sin.  This devalues the magnitude of God’s forgiveness, bought and paid for by the sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ.  At the center of our forgiveness stands the Cross of Christ.  Forgiveness is costly.  Our forgiveness cost the innocent Son of God His life.  There is no forgiveness without blood being shed, without paying a price, without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  But, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, sin cannot defeat us.

Peter, a follower of Jesus, sinned greatly, but he confessed his sin and received God’s forgiveness.  Through Jesus’ forgiveness the Holy Spirit enabled Peter to live a changed life.  That same power of the Holy Spirit works through the Gospel to change our lives — to enable us to live lives that reflect God’s love for us and withstand the temptation of Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh.

You and I can love and accept people burdened by their sin, but only God, in Christ, can heal them.  A woman who’s suffered an abortion may believe that God has forgiven her, but has difficulty forgiving herself.  Jesus is the key that opens the door and sets all sinners free.  What was the process for David in Psalm 51?  David was sorry for his sin, confessed that sin, turned from that sin, received God’s forgiveness, and was restored from sin.  Then he rejoiced over God’s healing touch of forgiveness and was eager to witness to others of God’s great forgiveness.  You and I can assure those who grieve that the memory of their aborted child will remain with them, but,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Word of Hope is a ministry of hope and healing after abortion.  I have volunteered with this ministry for many years.  We know that God has called each child by name.  We grieve their loss, but entrust them to God.  We also know that He has called every mother, father, grandparent, and care-giving friend by name.  May we encourage all in a manner that honors the One who named us.

If you would like to talk with Grace Kern at Word of Hope,
please call (888) 217-8679 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (888) 217-8679      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

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Called By Name

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, Vocation, tagged , , , , , , , on March 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Abortion does not think about the future.  Seventy six million baby boomers could soon realize that the lives might become a burden because 53 million people who would have supported an aging population were aborted.  That’s an economic nightmare.

But, there’s a more personal side to this nightmare.  Each one of the 53 million boys and girls who have been aborted in the U.S. alone since 1973 had a name (Isaiah 43:1-2).

I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine,” says the Creator and Lord God

Abortion drops a name placed upon a unique and treasured person.  It is a name known by God before all eternity for all eternity.  It is a name of a boy or girl who would have impacted this world in ways we’ll never know.

Abortion drops a name from a teacher’s grade book.  From 4-H club or Boys Scouts or junior olympics.  From schools of music, agriculture, or medicine.  From the consumer index and first-time home ownership.  For the tax rolls.  From bonds of marriage, parenthood, and genealogies.

Abortion drops a name from baptism, confirmation, and the mission field.

There is an emptiness when a name is dropped by abortion.  Women we know who have suffered the loss of an aborted child would explain this if only we’d listen.  That’s because a mother knows that a child created and named by God can never be replaced.

God named each on of this nation’s 53 million aborted children.  For each one He had a future and hope.  Even though each would have been born into sin, God had for them a robe of righteousness because of what Jesus did on a Cross for them.  Our world is less because these children are not with us.  Our world suffers when people created for a purpose and called by name are considered “untimely,” “inconvenient,” or “fearful.”

But, God has also named every mother who feared her child; who failed to see her child’s future and hope; who, deceived by other voices, doubted that God is good and can be trusted in every circumstance.  He calls each empty mother by name: “My daughter in Christ!  Life your countenance toward Me!”  He waits with open arms for each mother with a broken and repentant heart. “Turn to Me . . . acknowledge your sin . . . and I will forgive your guilt” (Psalm 32:3-5).  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; thought they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).  “Woman . . . neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11).

A woman who faces the reality of her abortion is in need of someone else whom God has named.  That person is you.  It is me.  We are “friends.”  “Comforters.”  “Encouragers” on the journey from the dark valley toward “goodness and mercy” (Psalm 23).

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Jane Russell Opposed Abortion

Posted in Commentaries of others, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Jane Russell was a Hollywood personality of my parent’s generation.  She recently died at age 89.  She was beautiful, but did anyone know what she thought about abortion?

John Smeaton, Director of The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), posted a blog on March 2 that explains why this Hollywood film star of the 40s and 50s spoke out against abortion.  At 19, she resorted to an illegal abortion which almost killed her and left her infertile.  Jane did not conclude that abortion should be legalized.  Instead, she said, “People should never, ever have an abortion.  Don’t talk to me about it being a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body.  The choice is between life and death.”

I don’t pretend to know much about Jane Russell, but it doesn’t surprise me that her opinion of abortion was kept under wraps.  I wonder how many people know that Jane Russell founded an organization called WAIF (World Adoption International Fund) to help people adopt unwanted children from various parts of the world.  She, herself, adopted three children.

John Smeaton points out that Jane Russell isn’t the only celebrity to have “stuck out her neck by making comments in support of unborn children or the dignity of motherhood, for example:

  • Charlton Heston gave the introduction to Eclipse of Reason (1986), the second of the late Dr. Bermard Nathanson’s documentaries on the reality of abortion
  • Jennifer O’Neill, an actress from the 1970s onwards, now speaks out about her abortion experience on behalf of the Silent No More campaign
  • Justin Bieber, the 17-year-old pop star, last month said that he doesn’t “believe in abortion” because “it’s like killing a baby.”  (He was attacked for being “too young” to have opinions on abortion!)
  • Natalie Portman, who won best actress in this week’s Oscars, has been attacked for describing her motherhood as “the most important role in my life.”  She also described pregnancy as “a miracle” giving meaning and importance amidst superficiality.

Together with John Smeaton and the SPUC, Lutherans For Life, Priests for Life, The National Right to Life, and all individuals, organizations, and ministries that speak up for life, I encourage you to pray for courage to defend our littlest neighbor and his or her mother.  Jane Russell’s first and only child died at the hands of an abortionist.  Jane was hurt by abortion and could never again bear another child.  But, she was encouraged by the truth that choosing life is always better than choosing death.  And, so, she welcomed children into her life and home through adoption.

In memory of Jane Russell and her stand for life, please consider giving a donation to your local caring pregnancy center.

 

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Yes, Abortion Does Hurt Women

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , on February 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

Twenty five of my friends, relatives, or acquaintances have had an abortion.  Of the 25, 18 are Lutheran.  Two are wives of pastors.  At least three have had more than one abortion.  These are just the women who have told me.

Each one of these women have said, “Please warn other women: Abortion hurts.  It hurts a long time.  It affects other choices, relationships and families.”

Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) printed a Danish study that concludes there is not a statistically significant difference in mental health issues in women before and after an abortion.  Grace Kern, Executive Director of Word of Hope, writes, “This study is flawed and presents a view that is not at all consistent with more than 30 studies that have been published in recent years showing abortion does increase the risk for a variety of mental health issues.”  Grace Kern and I have worked together.  She has spent what seems like a lifetime caring for women who suffer from depression, perpetual anger, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders,  and thoughts of suicide following their abortion choice.  She is called by women serving time in prison who point to the anniversary of their abortions as a “trigger” for some other kind of violence.

My life has been affected by the women who’ve shared with me their spiritual and psychological trauma from abortion.  In part, the little ministry of Titus 2 for Life (the mentoring outreach of Word of Hope) came into being because of these women.   The very least I can do is help other women — those who may feel trapped between a rock and a hard place — be informed about the very real, long-term risks and consequences of abortion.  It would be heartless of me to withhold truth and a word of warning for a younger generation of women.

Grace explains that one of the biggest flaws in the Danish study is it’s duration.  “It only followed women for 12 months after their abortion or childbirth . . . [but] negative effects of abortion may not surface for many years.

“The death of a child,” says Grace, “is perhaps the most difficult loss to mourn.”  It is for this reason that nurses, doctors, social workers and clergy are encouraged to be sensitive to hurting parents.  With the death of a premature baby, a stillborn child, or a miscarriage, parents are attended to and even encouraged to name and hold their dead baby.

“Every woman who has an induced (unnatural) abortion also suffers the death of her own child,” says Grace.  “Yet, these women typically find themselves alone to cope not only with the loss of the child she will never know, she also has to deal with her feelings of personal responsibility in the child’s death.  She may have difficulty understanding how, on one hand, she feels relief that she is no longer pregnant but, on the other hand, feels a profound sense of loss and emptiness.”

Following an abortion, the woman may feel such relief that she seems cheerful and “o.k.” with what’s happened, but doesn’t want to talk about it.  As feelings of relief subside, a period labeled by psychiatrists as emotional “paralysis” or post-abortion “numbness” sets in.  “This may explain why research into the psychological impact of abortion in the immediate post-abortion period often yields negative results,” says Grace.

The Danish study does not consider the long-term impact of abortion.  Nor, as Grace points out, does it consider “how the mental issues manifest themselves, or that the mental issues do not always result in a measurable event, such as a woman seeking psychological care.”

Women close to me prove that the Danish study is not only flawed, it is harmful.  Following her abortion, one woman allowed herself to float from one man to another.  She suffered assorted health problems.  She abused alcohol and had little respect for herself.  One woman married a few years following her abortion.  She gave birth to two children but believed, since she had aborted her first child, it was impossible for her to be a good mom.  She resisted the love of her husband and children and, instead, made life difficult for her family.  Another woman allowed herself to spiral downward after her abortion.  She ran with the wrong crowd, abused drugs and alcohol, and was sexually promiscuous.  Pregnant a second time, she again aborted.  What did it matter, she asked herself.  I’m a miserable excuse for a person.  She set herself up for failure in relationships.  Years later, after marriage and the birth of three children, peace alluded her.  Looking at her living children only reminded her of those to whom she had denied life.

So, yes, abortion does hurt women.  The Danish study, terribly flawed, completely disregards real women and men — mothers, fathers, and grandparents, too — who experience a delayed reaction to the violence of abortion.  If you are the mother or father of an aborted child, I would like you to call my friend Grace Kern at Word of Hope.  She will welcome you, be honest with you, and lead you toward a future of hope in the mercy of Jesus Christ.  Please visit www.word-of-hope.org or call 888-217-8679.

(Note: Resources for hope and healing are available from Word of Hope and also Lutherans For Life.  Two I have authored are the Bible study, From Heartache to Healing, and brochure “The Secret Pain.”)

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