On a recent trip to the beach I was searching the shoreline for that whole conch shell. You know the ones you hold to your ear to “hear” the ocean. It was not to be found. I did find a lot of shells that had been beaten, broken, and crushed by the waves. Many no longer resembled the beautiful creation God had intended. It was then that He impressed on me that this is what we, His children, are like. Scripture tells us that when He knit us together inside our mother’s wombs, we were fearfully and wonderfully made. I don’t know about you, but there are many days when I don’t feel I’m wonderfully made. I feel beaten, broken, and sometimes crushed by the “waves” of this world.
At HOPE, we see this in many of the young women we work with in Anson County. These ladies have been kicked around. Many have been abused. And most have no idea just how precious they are to their Creator.
The “H” in HOPE stands for healing, because we believe God wants to heal the emotional and spiritual hurts from past abortions, lifestyle choices, and abuse.
In Isaiah 61, we see that Jesus came to preach the good news, to heal the brokenhearted, to comfort those who mourn, and to give us beauty instead of ashes. The word translated brokenhearted in this text is from two Hebrew words: “shabar” and “leb”. Shabar means to break into pieces, crushed, shattered. Leb is inner man, mind, will, heart.
We all know what it is like to be hurt. But have you ever been crushed? Have you had your heart shattered into a million pieces and know that there is nothing you can do to put it back together again? This is what abuse and sometimes the decisions we make do to us. This is what an abortion does to a woman. And this is how many of the women we see live.
We know God has an awesome plan for them. They are, after all, fearfully wonderfully made. Sadly, instead of living this way, they are walking around broken and crushed, no longer resembling the creation God had intended.
We also know that many of the lifestyle choices they make come from a heart and mind that have been broken to the point that they can no longer make healthy choices. In fact, the statistics tell us that 3 out of 4 women who have crisis pregnancies are victims of some type of childhood abuse…usually sexual.
They need a Healer. They need God to make them whole again. They need to know that Jesus still loves them, that He forgives them, and that He is waiting with His arms open wide to heal them…and put them back together. This is why, whenever possible, we share the gospel with each lady we see. Instead of standing over them in judgment, we need to extend to them the same hope and healing that God has extended to us. We know this as well.
What we don’t know is whether or not you will join us. Will you help meet the needs of these women with your prayers and contributions? Or will you stand aloof, thinking that somehow, this is not your problem? If so, check out how The Message paraphrases Proverbs 11:11-12:
Rescue the perishing;
don’t hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”
will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know—
Someone not impressed with weak excuses.
Won’t you join us? We pray that you will. We pray that you will come along beside us as we walk along side these women.
In His Precious Love,
Kathy Landon
