Crisis Pregnancy and Peace – My Story
What will give you peace of mind? Will you find peace when you strive to rationalize your behavior that in your heart of hearts you know is not “right”? Or will you find peace when you take the “road less travelled” of obedience to do what you know is right, no matter the cost or disdain people may throw your way? The whole issue of crisis pregnancy is fraught with pitfalls, depending on which road you take. Let me share my own story …
Years ago before I first became a Christian and chose to be obedient to God’s way of life, I felt free to do my own things. No one was looking over my shoulder to say this is wrong or this is right. Or so I thought……. But I was also probably one of the most miserable creatures on this earth! I went this way and that way, never finding satisfaction or fulfillment in my life.
I was in my last year of university when I became pregnant out of wedlock. It was a watershed moment for me. No one could tell me how to cope. It was 1973, the year abortion was made legal in the US. I could have chosen to have an abortion and forget the whole matter, but something in me said no. Back then, however, single parenting in my culture was not well thought of or even common. But I was a rebel, so I pushed ahead and had my baby, but not without a lot of trauma, including being thrown out of my mother’s house with words that are not repeatable.
No one talked to me or advised me except my boyfriend’s mother, a godly woman. She encouraged me to have the baby, saying she would raise the child for me if I felt unable to do so myself. She gave me the courage to continue the pregnancy. A baby girl was born, my own mother actually came to visit us when we were home from hospital, and life continued. But there were more challenges along the way, more broken relationships, even a marriage that lasted only 5 years. By then I had another child, this time a son, and I found myself back to being a single mom.
Decisions I made caused me to lose so much, including that short-lived marriage. The path I was on was a path to destruction, but I didn’t realize until it was almost too late. My misery without God was taking me on a slippery slope to suicide. But a neighbor shared Christ with me, and my life’s road led me finally to Him, the one Who loves me unconditionally, no matter what I do (or don’t do!).
Life with the Lord has not been easy. But if I’d stayed away from Him, I wouldn’t even be here to write these words. My crisis pregnancy gave me a beautiful girl who married in her early 20’s and has given me two awesome grandchildren. Those children would not even exist if I’d either aborted or killed myself. Generations would have been cut off. One big “full-stop”!
Are you attempting to make a tough decision about your crisis pregnancy, or some other crisis you are facing? Have you gone through an earlier crisis and found the “right” decision that ultimately gave you peace? Do you want peace in your life now, despite the challenges that may lie ahead? I encourage you, do the RIGHT thing. Don’t let circumstances or angry and self-righteous people steer you in a direction you will later regret. Doing the right thing may not be the most popular or politically correct thing to do. But I’m here to tell you, doing the right thing starts to get easier as you see good decisions having a positive effect on your life down the line. Those positive effects are worth remembering when a new crisis rears its ugly head.
Try it – peace will follow …