No human is perfect – I think we all could agree on that point.
But, sometimes, we act as though we should be. We don’t like being wrong. We don’t like admitting we are wrong. It hurts our pride. It pulls off the mask. It reveals our fallen nature.
I’d like you to think of the last time you had to admit were you were wrong. Maybe it was in your relationship with God. Maybe it was in your relationship with your spouse. Maybe it was in your relationship with your child, or your friend.
One of the most precious gifts we can ever receive is forgiveness.
The story that comes to mind is story of the immoral woman in John 8:
“Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, He said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
We all have been that woman at one time or another. We all have been in need of forgiveness. We all have fallen short. The girls walking into our centers are in need of the same forgiveness we receive.
Maria, a patient of ours discovered forgiveness in a solidifying way shortly after she learned of her pregnancy. Maria, who grew up in a Christian family, became pregnant by her boyfriend, Jared. She was scared to tell her parents, scared to tell Jared and scared to tell her friends. One of our Client/Patient Advocate encouraged Maria to break the news with her parents. Maria did just that and told her parents. This is what Maria told us, after her baby girl, Emily, was born.
The combination of my parents’ love and grace and forgiveness, and the way Jared reacted [by proposing] proved to me that the woman at Hope was right – God did have a wonderful plan for my life, and all the dreams I had dreamed as a little girl were still possible.
Many girls think their “life” is over because of their pregnancy. They feel hopeless and afraid. But where there is breath there is hope! Their life is not over, it is just changing into something different.
Unfortunately, many girls don’t get to the point where Maria got. They think the only way to continue living is to terminate their pregnancy.
But what they don’t realize is the moment they became pregnant their life changed. No matter what they decide: abortion or life; their life will never be the same. Abortion permanently scars the mother and carrying the baby to term brands a new identity on the mother.
It is our deepest desire to see each woman who enters our centers to discover the forgiveness that Jesus offers. We want them to see that He is a Defender for the weak (mother) and those without a voice (baby).
Forgiveness changes those it forgives.
Our prayer as Board, staff, and volunteers at Hope is that women and men in Broward County encounter and discover forgiveness, and because of that forgiveness will never be the same!
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