Day One

As I sat last night thinking about who might need encouragement and where to begin, it occurred to me that I could easily look back at my own life for times when I was afraid and needed lifting up. The first thing that came to mind was how scared I was when I found out I was pregnant with Amanda and knowing I was going to keep her but feeling very lost and alone. So, thinking that it might be helpful for those in the same postion to know they are not alone, I wrote this letter of encouragement and I am going to send a bunch of copies (with a letter of explanation) to the local pregnancy care center in envelopes for them to hand out to mothers who come in for help.
It might not be much, but then again it might be alot. It feels exciting to really start DOING something to share my faith and hope with people. I woke up feeling purposeful and with a smile on my face. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Letter:

A word of encouragement to a mother with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy:

      Right now it seems hard, impossible maybe

      Right now it seems as though it’s not real, not a life yet

      Right now relief from the problem is so tempting  

Right now:

      God is with you

      God loves you

      God knows your needs

      God created your life and the one inside of you for a purpose

Joshua 1:9    “Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.”  Message translation

God is your God if you accept the gift of His Son that He sent for all people as a way to Him. Jesus died on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven and God in His holiness could accept us as His own. He had Jesus pay the price that we could not pay.

John 3:16-17  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed: by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” Message translation

He can put your world right again. No matter what.

      Put your trust in Jesus

      Value your life as much as He did dying for you

      Value the life He has allowed you to carry inside of you

      Find a church and let them love you and your baby

      Adoption may be an option too.

I too, was once a single mother. Eighteen and scared. The choice before me was difficult and I knew things were going to be tough. I was not living for Jesus when I made my decision to have my daughter, but I knew about His love. Later on my daughter found Jesus and led me back to Him, and I accepted His gift of forgiveness and gave Him my heart and my life. It was not much later that Amanda died in a car accident. My heart broke into a million pieces. I will spend my life missing her. What if I had decided to terminate the pregnancy? Would I have been better off? Did her life matter? Those questions are answered so quickly. I cannot imagine her not ever having been here. Her life touched so many people. All of our lives touch so many people. I have no idea why God saw fit to take her away so early, but I am forever grateful to have been her mother. I am forever grateful that I know she is with Jesus and I will spend eternity with her because of Him.

I would like to encourage you to be strong and fearless knowing you have a mighty God behind you and that your life and that of your child’s have great value to Him. So much value that He was brutally beaten and died for you. Trust Him. I know you won’t regret it.

The choice for life leaves no regrets and is worth any amount of trial.