I stand before you today as a beloved child of God. Whatever is good, whatever is of value in me is solely due to the grace, mercy, truth, and love of Jesus Christ.
I am here today because God has given to me a heart’s desire to love and to serve Him, to seek His will. But, there was a time when I lived my life in rebellion to God and by the age of nineteen, I had conceived my first child.
Out of a paralyzing fear of facing the brokenness and dysfunction of my home life with the news that I was pregnant, I had my child’s life ended through abortion. But my abortion did not relieve my fear.
Instead, that fear was soon overwhelmed by the horror of the full realization of what I had done.
A month after my abortion, during a post-abortive follow up, I saw a poster showing actual photographs of babies in the womb at different developmental stages. There for my eyes to see was a baby, at nine weeks old. I saw that baby's face and fingers and toes. That tiny baby was perfectly and completely formed. That baby was the age of my child when his life was ended. At that moment I realized I had destroyed the life of a fully human person. No tears could wash away the utter loss of my child that I felt.
For many years, I lived under the burden of shame, remorse, and despair, yet God did not leave me in that place. God rescued me from that burden, a burden that I could not bear.
By His grace, God has revealed to me who my child truly is. He is wonderfully made, created in God’s image. He is precious in God’s sight, loved perfectly by his Creator.
By His mercy, God restored the mother and child bond, so corrupted by abortion but not destroyed, by reconciling me to my child, who I desperately long to love, honor, and cherish.
By His truth, God has shown to me that my child’s life was never mine to give or to take. That right is God’s alone. His life was and always will be in the hand of God.
By His love, God has made known to me that I am and forever will be my child’s mother. He is and forever will be my beloved child. For all this I say Praise God!
To God be given all glory, honor, and praise.