September 30, 2025 • 19 mins
Especially in churches, women will often take their abortion secret to the grave, because there are too few opportunities for confession and healing offered. But there are many brave women who have stepped up inside their churches and shared the stories of their abortions, partly as cautionary tales, but more importantly, as testimonies of God's healing and deliverance through their experience. Such women are a gift to the church, and living examples of God's redemptive power.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Forgiven and Set Free abortion recovery bible study and workbook for women
Healing the Father's Heart abortion recovery bible study and workbook for men
Light and Life Ministry, First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC
Piedmont Women's Center, Greenville, SC
NPR audio plays the sounds of abortion on the air
Scripture references in this episode include:
2 Timothy 1:7 Psalm 139 Matthew 5:14
Psalm 3:5-6; 34:4; 55:22 Isaiah 40:31 Jeremiah 29:11
Deuteronomy 3:22 Matthew 6:28-29 Philippians 4:19
Psalm 145:16 Psalm 23 Psalm 91
Romans 8:38-39 John 1:3 Matthew 10:29
Revelation 1:17 Colossians 1:17 Isaiah 40:31
https://www.ppl.org/baby-chris
Abortion is never medically necessary
Abortion Pill Reversal https://abortionpillreversal.com 24/7 Helpline at 877.558.0333 Email: help@apr.life or Chat at the weblink above
Post abortion recovery for both women and men at https://www.rachelsvineyard.org
Life Training Institute https://www.prolifetraining.com
Charlotte Lozier Institute https://lozierinstitute.org
Guttmacher Institute https://guttmacher.org
Compelled by the gospel, PPL equips Presbyterians to champion human life at every stage. PPL.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
DeborahHollifield (00:16):
Welcome back to the ProLife Kitchen Table.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, andevery week I'm your host as we
work through the archivedresources of Presbyterians
Protecting Life to help equipChristians to champion human
life from fertilization tonatural death.
The first half of every episodeis an article or editorial by a
(00:36):
member of the PPL board or anexpert in a field related to
some aspect of prolife issues.
After a short break midwaythrough the podcast, I return to
read from a devotional calledBaby Chris that was written by
me for PPL that considers eachweek of development in the womb
through a biblical lens.
(00:57):
Something that we as prolifeadvocates can never forget is
that there are always severallives that are affected by every
abortion.
And of course the first lifethat comes to mind at the same
time as the child is themother's.
There is an estimate that onein four women has experienced an
abortion herself.
(01:17):
The number in the blackcommunity is much, much higher
because of the decades of theeugenic campaign waged
by Planned Parenthood and antilife politicians.
That means you undoubtedlywon't know more than one woman
who has had an abortion.
And sadly, as women who were intheir childbearing years in the
(01:37):
1970s when abortion became anational right and socially
accepted, are now in your churchin the same numbers that they
are in the wider population.
Especially in churches, womenwill often take their abortions
secret to the grave becausethere are so few opportunities
(01:58):
for such confession and healing.
But there are many brave womenwho have stepped up inside their
churches and shared the storiesof their abortions, partly as
cautionary tales, but moreimportantly as testimonies of
God's healing and deliverancethrough their experience.
Such women are a gift to thechurch and living examples of
(02:20):
God's redemptive power.
So this week I'm going to sharethe testimony of PPL Board
member Stephanie Johnson, who asthe wife of an associate pastor
at a large and influentialPresbyterian church risked a
great deal when she gave hertestimony in the midst of the
congregation.
The article that she wroteabout this event is titled Out
(02:44):
of the Darkness Into Life.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"As far as the East is from theWest, so far does he remove our
sins from us.
Thanks be to God.
" Scott Klusendorf, presidentof the Life Training Institute,
(03:09):
points out that women aged 18 to24 are the most vulnerable and
most likely to have an abortion.
In my life before knowingChrist, I made two of the worst
decisions of my life, when atage 18, and again at age 24, I
chose abortion over life.
I was seventeen when I met myfirst love, a handsome pastor's
(03:33):
son.
For my eighteenth birthday, hegave me an engagement ring, and
on that same night I gave him myvirginity and got pregnant.
I felt like I had no voice andno choice, because no other
options besides abortion weregiven.
I was told that the baby wasjust a blob of tissue anyway,
(03:54):
and I believed that lie.
The abortion was performed inthe hospital.
Even though it was 1971, andRoe v.
Wade would not make abortionlegal until January of 1973.
Afterwards, my abortion wasnever talked about by my family
or my boyfriend.
It was as though it neverhappened.
(04:17):
It caused our relationship toend, which left me heartbroken
and my innocence shattered.
I stuffed my feelings of anger,guilt, grief, shame, and
regret.
These deep wounds took my lifein an entirely different
direction than had I done thingsGod's way.
As is typical in women who havehad an abortion, I was not
(04:40):
aware that I was subconsciouslytrying to replace the baby I had
aborted.
At age twenty four, I gotpregnant again with my boyfriend
of three years.
He said marriage was not anoption, and angrily insisted
that I have an abortion.
I was so ashamed to be pregnantagain.
I couldn't tell anybody,especially my parents, so I
(05:03):
agreed to it.
My boyfriend dropped me off atthe abortion clinic, paid for
it, and went to work.
I had never felt so alone or sofull of despair as that day.
That relationship broke upshortly after the abortion as
well.
Broken and wounded, with no oneto share my secret, I stuffed
(05:25):
my feelings again.
A few years later I met a verynice man who I had a lot in
common with.
We started dating, fell inlove, and then when unbelievably
I got pregnant again.
At this time I knew without adoubt that I could not have
another abortion.
He wanted to keep the babyalso, so we chose life and
(05:47):
marriage.
We went on to have threebeautiful children together.
We were married eleven yearswhen tragically he died of a
massive heart attack.
This was a devastating and lifealtering event for my children
and me.
I was now a single, selfemployed mother, supporting
three young children.
(06:08):
It was an extremely difficulttime, but God provided for us.
During this time I felt theLord pursuing me as the hound of
heaven.
Finally I surrendered,accepting Christ and believing
that God truly loved me andforgave all of my past sins.
He redeemed me, he gave me abrand new life in Christ, and he
(06:31):
can do the same for all womenand men who like me choose
abortion.
Many years later, God answeredmy prayers and brought me the
love of my life, my husbandStan, a pastor.
When we married in 2003, Stanbecame a father to the
fatherless for my children, thethree here on earth and the two
(06:52):
in heaven.
We have been blessed to serveat First Presbyterian Church now
for almost 20 years.
One of the most providentialblessings for me was when I met
the CEO of our local crisispregnancy center, Lena, at an
event in our church in 2005.
(07:13):
She told me about theirabortion recovery assistance
ministry and the forgiven andset free Bible study that they
offered.
Although it had been almost 35years since my first abortion,
and even though I knew in myheart that I was forgiven, for
some reason I still feltstained.
Lena helped me realize that Ineeded to face my abortion
(07:37):
wounds and allow God to heal methrough his word.
During the Bible study Ilearned so much about who God
is, who I was in Christ, andabout his unconditional love,
grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
With other women who had beenwhere I had been, I could
finally grieve the loss of mytwo children, acknowledge their
(07:59):
humanity and honor their livesby naming them.
By the end of the course I wastruly healed and set free from
the brokenness and wounds I hadcarried all those years.
Even though statistics tell usthat more than four in ten women
who have had abortions werechurchgoers when they ended
their pregnancy, I am here totell you there is hope if you or
(08:22):
someone you know has had anabortion.
You can experience as I did themiraculous transforming power
of God's redeeming love, grace,and forgiveness through the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
God wants those wounded byabortion to be healed and set
free so they can live theabundant life He created them
for.
(08:43):
I encourage anyone who has losta child to abortion to pursue
post abortion healing.
In his book The Purpose DrivenLife, Rick Warren wrote "God
never wastes a hurt.
In fact, your greatest ministrywill most likely come out of
your greatest hurt.
The very experience that youhave resented or regretted the
(09:07):
most in life, the ones you havewanted to hide and forget, are
the experiences God wants you touse to help others." This is so
true.
Shortly after my husband washired at our church, I realized
God had placed me in a uniqueposition.
I sensed God wanted me to helpothers and give Him the glory by
(09:29):
sharing my testimony at ourchurch.
Unfortunately, I gave into thefear of being judged and
gossiped about.
This fear is why women who'vehad an abortion in their past
don't feel that the church is asafe place and what keeps them
from pursuing healing andsharing their secret with the
pastor.
They view abortion as anunforgivable sin, and that is a
(09:52):
lie from the pit of hell.
Many nights my husband listenedto me agonizing over why I
couldn't find the courage toobey God's calling.
But as we know, God's timing isalways perfect.
A few years ago, our seniorpastor included the topic of
abortion in his sermon.
(10:13):
He showed a powerful video toour congregation called The
Sound of Abortion.
This was the moment that theHoly Spirit convicted me and
said, Now is the time.
This began the journey of Godusing my greatest hurt and
turning it into my greatestministry and calling.
In 2017 I shared my testimony atthe annual fundraising banquet
(10:37):
for Piedmont Women's Center.
What a huge mountaintopexperience that was.
Afterwards, though, I felt ahuge burden, so I prayed, God,
where are you calling me now?
It soon became evident that Godwas at work when Lisa Van
Riper, a church member, elder,and president of South Carolina
Citizens for Life, asked me tohelp start a pro life ministry
(11:01):
at our church.
Her request confirmed that thiswas where God was calling me to
serve.
As we shared our vision withother church members, the Holy
Spirit moved them to support usand join in our efforts.
In July 2017, the firstPresbyterian Church Light and
Life Ministry was formed, and webecame a local chapter of
(11:23):
Presbyterians Protecting Life.
Our mission statement is tospeak truth, change hearts, and
save lives.
Our vision is to bring thesubject of abortion and the
sanctity of human life out ofthe darkness and into the light.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"You are the light of theworld.
(11:46):
A city set on a hill cannot behidden.
Thanks be to God." I hopeStephanie's testimony touched
your heart.
And if you are a woman who hasexperienced abortion, especially
a woman who is part of a churchfamily, I hope you also heard
how much healing came out of herwillingness to share.
(12:08):
I know that there are manywomen like her throughout the
world, but especially in theUnited States, who motivated by
their faith in our Lord andSavior Jesus Christ, whose
experiences could change thehearts and minds of young women
everywhere, especially the onesat their kitchen tables.
And now let's take our stretchbreak and maybe get a snack.
(12:31):
Because when we come back,we're going to hear about baby
Chris's development during week27 in the womb.
And this devotional is entitledComfort Food.
Announcer (13:02):
Presented by a five-member ensemble cast,
Viable leads the audiencethrough a journey of healing and
restoration for post-abortivewomen and men through the love
of Jesus Christ.
Viable is endorsed by theNational Right to Life
Committee.
You can find out how to presentViable to your church or
pro-life group atViablePlay.org.
DeborahHollifield (13:25):
This week's Baby Chris Devotional is
entitled Comfort Food.
Hear the Word of the Lord.
"For God has not given us aspirit of fear, but of power and
of love and of a sound mind."Thanks be to God.
(13:45):
A t twenty seven weeks, BabyChris's retinas are now mature,
making him more sensitive tolight.
His thumb sucking is no longerrandom, but is intentional self
soothing.
Young children suck theirthumbs if they are tired, bored,
hungry, or scared.
But why would a baby in thewomb need to self soothe?
(14:06):
He's not hungry, wet,frightened, or in pain.
But thumb sucking is seen inmany ultrasound images.
It is innate.
It's not a learned behavior.
By the time we grow toadolescence and adulthood, we
continue to self soothe byreplacing thumb sucking with
other coping mechanisms, rangingfrom eating comfort food,
(14:28):
shopping, overwork or overexercising, gambling, alcohol,
and drug abuse.
We tend to treat anxiety as aproblem, and certainly runaway
anxiety can be disabling.
But it seems that anxiety ispart of the universal human
condition.
What if anxiety is a gift inthe same way that pain is a
(14:49):
gift?
Pain helps us learn to becareful around real things that
will actually harm us if weencounter them, like hot burners
and sharp points and streettraffic.
Pain and suffering also remindus of our weakened humanity.
Pain forces us to allow othersto minister to us in more
intimate ways and allows othersto exercise compassion.
(15:12):
Both pain and anxiety can beproblematic, but they can also
be positive and productive.
So if anxiety is a gift, howwould it function?
Well, similar to pain, anxietyfunctions as a reminder of what
might harm us, but in a way thatis different from physical
pain.
(15:32):
Overwhelming anxiety magnifiesnot only the possibility, but
the expectation of pain that isoften, at least in the moment, a
non-existent threat.
Unlike what we learn fromphysical pain with anxiety, we
can't modify our behavior toprotect us from the real thing
that could actually harm us,like don't touch or look both
(15:56):
ways.
Anxiety only allows us tobecome hypervigilant in
anticipation of a pain we can'tmeasure or prevent from an
unknown source at a time wecan't predict.
Physical pain is usuallyspecific, but with anxiety, the
possibilities are limitless.
No wonder it's so easy forworry to expand into a
(16:20):
suffocating blanket ofdepression.
Well, it doesn't seem verygift-like to me.
But more than 500 times,Scripture reminds us to be not
afraid.
The Psalms, the prophets, allthe gospels and the epistles
remind us to trust in the Lord.
Trust the future to the Lordbecause God is with us, and the
(16:42):
battle is the Lord's.
Are you concerned about yourfamily and livelihood?
Well, God will provide for allour needs.
Do you fear sickness and death?
God will never leave you alone.
Perhaps the worst worry thatassails even the strongest
believer from time to time isthe fear that we might not,
(17:03):
after all, be acceptable inGod's sight.
The knowledge of our past andcurrent sins can overwhelm our
faith and leave us wavering.
It may be that it is at thispoint where the gift of anxiety
shines the brightest.
In the words of Saint Paul, Iam convinced that nothing can
(17:23):
ever separate us from God'slove, neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor
our worries about tomorrow, noteven the powers of hell can
separate us from God's love.
Romans chapter eight, versesthirty eight and thirty nine.
Where we collapse under theweight of anxiety and worry over
(17:46):
the people and things we cannotcontrol is where anxiety
becomes a gift.
For the only place left toturn, our only hope is God.
The God who made all things,who is in control of all things,
who holds all things together,is the one to whom the gift of
anxiety points.
(18:07):
A mother's womb should be thesafest place we will ever know
this side of eternity.
Yet in our upside down times,it has become one of the most
perilous places where thesmallest and weakest among us
lie helplessly as their livesare held in the shaky trust of
others, anxious and fearful menand women, unwilling parents who
(18:31):
may see the child as the sourceof the anxiety they long to
escape.
Thank God the pre-born have noanxious expectation that they
might be targeted forelimination.
Thank God that he has them inhis care.
Thank God that he has givenhuman beings anxiety from the
womb so that as we go throughlife we might become conscious
(18:55):
of our need for God's grace andmercy.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"Do not fear, for I am withyou.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you and helpyou.
I will uphold you with myrighteous right hand." Isaiah
(19:17):
chapter 40, verse 31.
Thanks be to God.
Announcer (19:26):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
Welcome back to the ProLife Kitchen Table.
I'm Deborah Hollifield, andevery week I'm your host as we
work through the archivedresources of Presbyterians
Protecting Life to help equipChristians to champion human
life from fertilization tonatural death.
The first half of every episodeis an article or editorial by a
(00:36):
member of the PPL board or anexpert in a field related to
some aspect of prolife issues.
After a short break midwaythrough the podcast, I return to
read from a devotional calledBaby Chris that was written by
me for PPL that considers eachweek of development in the womb
through a biblical lens.
(00:57):
Something that we as prolifeadvocates can never forget is
that there are always severallives that are affected by every
abortion.
And of course the first lifethat comes to mind at the same
time as the child is themother's.
There is an estimate that onein four women has experienced an
abortion herself.
(01:17):
The number in the blackcommunity is much, much higher
because of the decades of theeugenic campaign waged
by Planned Parenthood and antilife politicians.
That means you undoubtedlywon't know more than one woman
who has had an abortion.
And sadly, as women who were intheir childbearing years in the
(01:37):
1970s when abortion became anational right and socially
accepted, are now in your churchin the same numbers that they
are in the wider population.
Especially in churches, womenwill often take their abortions
secret to the grave becausethere are so few opportunities
(01:58):
for such confession and healing.
But there are many brave womenwho have stepped up inside their
churches and shared the storiesof their abortions, partly as
cautionary tales, but moreimportantly as testimonies of
God's healing and deliverancethrough their experience.
Such women are a gift to thechurch and living examples of
(02:20):
God's redemptive power.
So this week I'm going to sharethe testimony of PPL Board
member Stephanie Johnson, who asthe wife of an associate pastor
at a large and influentialPresbyterian church risked a
great deal when she gave hertestimony in the midst of the
congregation.
The article that she wroteabout this event is titled Out
(02:44):
of the Darkness Into Life.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"As far as the East is from theWest, so far does he remove our
sins from us.
Thanks be to God.
" Scott Klusendorf, presidentof the Life Training Institute,
(03:09):
points out that women aged 18 to24 are the most vulnerable and
most likely to have an abortion.
In my life before knowingChrist, I made two of the worst
decisions of my life, when atage 18, and again at age 24, I
chose abortion over life.
I was seventeen when I met myfirst love, a handsome pastor's
(03:33):
son.
For my eighteenth birthday, hegave me an engagement ring, and
on that same night I gave him myvirginity and got pregnant.
I felt like I had no voice andno choice, because no other
options besides abortion weregiven.
I was told that the baby wasjust a blob of tissue anyway,
(03:54):
and I believed that lie.
The abortion was performed inthe hospital.
Even though it was 1971, andRoe v.
Wade would not make abortionlegal until January of 1973.
Afterwards, my abortion wasnever talked about by my family
or my boyfriend.
It was as though it neverhappened.
(04:17):
It caused our relationship toend, which left me heartbroken
and my innocence shattered.
I stuffed my feelings of anger,guilt, grief, shame, and
regret.
These deep wounds took my lifein an entirely different
direction than had I done thingsGod's way.
As is typical in women who havehad an abortion, I was not
(04:40):
aware that I was subconsciouslytrying to replace the baby I had
aborted.
At age twenty four, I gotpregnant again with my boyfriend
of three years.
He said marriage was not anoption, and angrily insisted
that I have an abortion.
I was so ashamed to be pregnantagain.
I couldn't tell anybody,especially my parents, so I
(05:03):
agreed to it.
My boyfriend dropped me off atthe abortion clinic, paid for
it, and went to work.
I had never felt so alone or sofull of despair as that day.
That relationship broke upshortly after the abortion as
well.
Broken and wounded, with no oneto share my secret, I stuffed
(05:25):
my feelings again.
A few years later I met a verynice man who I had a lot in
common with.
We started dating, fell inlove, and then when unbelievably
I got pregnant again.
At this time I knew without adoubt that I could not have
another abortion.
He wanted to keep the babyalso, so we chose life and
(05:47):
marriage.
We went on to have threebeautiful children together.
We were married eleven yearswhen tragically he died of a
massive heart attack.
This was a devastating and lifealtering event for my children
and me.
I was now a single, selfemployed mother, supporting
three young children.
(06:08):
It was an extremely difficulttime, but God provided for us.
During this time I felt theLord pursuing me as the hound of
heaven.
Finally I surrendered,accepting Christ and believing
that God truly loved me andforgave all of my past sins.
He redeemed me, he gave me abrand new life in Christ, and he
(06:31):
can do the same for all womenand men who like me choose
abortion.
Many years later, God answeredmy prayers and brought me the
love of my life, my husbandStan, a pastor.
When we married in 2003, Stanbecame a father to the
fatherless for my children, thethree here on earth and the two
(06:52):
in heaven.
We have been blessed to serveat First Presbyterian Church now
for almost 20 years.
One of the most providentialblessings for me was when I met
the CEO of our local crisispregnancy center, Lena, at an
event in our church in 2005.
(07:13):
She told me about theirabortion recovery assistance
ministry and the forgiven andset free Bible study that they
offered.
Although it had been almost 35years since my first abortion,
and even though I knew in myheart that I was forgiven, for
some reason I still feltstained.
Lena helped me realize that Ineeded to face my abortion
(07:37):
wounds and allow God to heal methrough his word.
During the Bible study Ilearned so much about who God
is, who I was in Christ, andabout his unconditional love,
grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
With other women who had beenwhere I had been, I could
finally grieve the loss of mytwo children, acknowledge their
(07:59):
humanity and honor their livesby naming them.
By the end of the course I wastruly healed and set free from
the brokenness and wounds I hadcarried all those years.
Even though statistics tell usthat more than four in ten women
who have had abortions werechurchgoers when they ended
their pregnancy, I am here totell you there is hope if you or
(08:22):
someone you know has had anabortion.
You can experience as I did themiraculous transforming power
of God's redeeming love, grace,and forgiveness through the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
God wants those wounded byabortion to be healed and set
free so they can live theabundant life He created them
for.
(08:43):
I encourage anyone who has losta child to abortion to pursue
post abortion healing.
In his book The Purpose DrivenLife, Rick Warren wrote "God
never wastes a hurt.
In fact, your greatest ministrywill most likely come out of
your greatest hurt.
The very experience that youhave resented or regretted the
(09:07):
most in life, the ones you havewanted to hide and forget, are
the experiences God wants you touse to help others." This is so
true.
Shortly after my husband washired at our church, I realized
God had placed me in a uniqueposition.
I sensed God wanted me to helpothers and give Him the glory by
(09:29):
sharing my testimony at ourchurch.
Unfortunately, I gave into thefear of being judged and
gossiped about.
This fear is why women who'vehad an abortion in their past
don't feel that the church is asafe place and what keeps them
from pursuing healing andsharing their secret with the
pastor.
They view abortion as anunforgivable sin, and that is a
(09:52):
lie from the pit of hell.
Many nights my husband listenedto me agonizing over why I
couldn't find the courage toobey God's calling.
But as we know, God's timing isalways perfect.
A few years ago, our seniorpastor included the topic of
abortion in his sermon.
(10:13):
He showed a powerful video toour congregation called The
Sound of Abortion.
This was the moment that theHoly Spirit convicted me and
said, Now is the time.
This began the journey of Godusing my greatest hurt and
turning it into my greatestministry and calling.
In 2017 I shared my testimony atthe annual fundraising banquet
(10:37):
for Piedmont Women's Center.
What a huge mountaintopexperience that was.
Afterwards, though, I felt ahuge burden, so I prayed, God,
where are you calling me now?
It soon became evident that Godwas at work when Lisa Van
Riper, a church member, elder,and president of South Carolina
Citizens for Life, asked me tohelp start a pro life ministry
(11:01):
at our church.
Her request confirmed that thiswas where God was calling me to
serve.
As we shared our vision withother church members, the Holy
Spirit moved them to support usand join in our efforts.
In July 2017, the firstPresbyterian Church Light and
Life Ministry was formed, and webecame a local chapter of
(11:23):
Presbyterians Protecting Life.
Our mission statement is tospeak truth, change hearts, and
save lives.
Our vision is to bring thesubject of abortion and the
sanctity of human life out ofthe darkness and into the light.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"You are the light of theworld.
(11:46):
A city set on a hill cannot behidden.
Thanks be to God." I hopeStephanie's testimony touched
your heart.
And if you are a woman who hasexperienced abortion, especially
a woman who is part of a churchfamily, I hope you also heard
how much healing came out of herwillingness to share.
(12:08):
I know that there are manywomen like her throughout the
world, but especially in theUnited States, who motivated by
their faith in our Lord andSavior Jesus Christ, whose
experiences could change thehearts and minds of young women
everywhere, especially the onesat their kitchen tables.
And now let's take our stretchbreak and maybe get a snack.
(12:31):
Because when we come back,we're going to hear about baby
Chris's development during week27 in the womb.
And this devotional is entitledComfort Food.
Announcer (13:02):
Presented by a five-member ensemble cast,
Viable leads the audiencethrough a journey of healing and
restoration for post-abortivewomen and men through the love
of Jesus Christ.
Viable is endorsed by theNational Right to Life
Committee.
You can find out how to presentViable to your church or
pro-life group atViablePlay.org.
DeborahHollifield (13:25):
This week's Baby Chris Devotional is
entitled Comfort Food.
Hear the Word of the Lord.
"For God has not given us aspirit of fear, but of power and
of love and of a sound mind."Thanks be to God.
(13:45):
A t twenty seven weeks, BabyChris's retinas are now mature,
making him more sensitive tolight.
His thumb sucking is no longerrandom, but is intentional self
soothing.
Young children suck theirthumbs if they are tired, bored,
hungry, or scared.
But why would a baby in thewomb need to self soothe?
(14:06):
He's not hungry, wet,frightened, or in pain.
But thumb sucking is seen inmany ultrasound images.
It is innate.
It's not a learned behavior.
By the time we grow toadolescence and adulthood, we
continue to self soothe byreplacing thumb sucking with
other coping mechanisms, rangingfrom eating comfort food,
(14:28):
shopping, overwork or overexercising, gambling, alcohol,
and drug abuse.
We tend to treat anxiety as aproblem, and certainly runaway
anxiety can be disabling.
But it seems that anxiety ispart of the universal human
condition.
What if anxiety is a gift inthe same way that pain is a
(14:49):
gift?
Pain helps us learn to becareful around real things that
will actually harm us if weencounter them, like hot burners
and sharp points and streettraffic.
Pain and suffering also remindus of our weakened humanity.
Pain forces us to allow othersto minister to us in more
intimate ways and allows othersto exercise compassion.
(15:12):
Both pain and anxiety can beproblematic, but they can also
be positive and productive.
So if anxiety is a gift, howwould it function?
Well, similar to pain, anxietyfunctions as a reminder of what
might harm us, but in a way thatis different from physical
pain.
(15:32):
Overwhelming anxiety magnifiesnot only the possibility, but
the expectation of pain that isoften, at least in the moment, a
non-existent threat.
Unlike what we learn fromphysical pain with anxiety, we
can't modify our behavior toprotect us from the real thing
that could actually harm us,like don't touch or look both
(15:56):
ways.
Anxiety only allows us tobecome hypervigilant in
anticipation of a pain we can'tmeasure or prevent from an
unknown source at a time wecan't predict.
Physical pain is usuallyspecific, but with anxiety, the
possibilities are limitless.
No wonder it's so easy forworry to expand into a
(16:20):
suffocating blanket ofdepression.
Well, it doesn't seem verygift-like to me.
But more than 500 times,Scripture reminds us to be not
afraid.
The Psalms, the prophets, allthe gospels and the epistles
remind us to trust in the Lord.
Trust the future to the Lordbecause God is with us, and the
(16:42):
battle is the Lord's.
Are you concerned about yourfamily and livelihood?
Well, God will provide for allour needs.
Do you fear sickness and death?
God will never leave you alone.
Perhaps the worst worry thatassails even the strongest
believer from time to time isthe fear that we might not,
(17:03):
after all, be acceptable inGod's sight.
The knowledge of our past andcurrent sins can overwhelm our
faith and leave us wavering.
It may be that it is at thispoint where the gift of anxiety
shines the brightest.
In the words of Saint Paul, Iam convinced that nothing can
(17:23):
ever separate us from God'slove, neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor
our worries about tomorrow, noteven the powers of hell can
separate us from God's love.
Romans chapter eight, versesthirty eight and thirty nine.
Where we collapse under theweight of anxiety and worry over
(17:46):
the people and things we cannotcontrol is where anxiety
becomes a gift.
For the only place left toturn, our only hope is God.
The God who made all things,who is in control of all things,
who holds all things together,is the one to whom the gift of
anxiety points.
(18:07):
A mother's womb should be thesafest place we will ever know
this side of eternity.
Yet in our upside down times,it has become one of the most
perilous places where thesmallest and weakest among us
lie helplessly as their livesare held in the shaky trust of
others, anxious and fearful menand women, unwilling parents who
(18:31):
may see the child as the sourceof the anxiety they long to
escape.
Thank God the pre-born have noanxious expectation that they
might be targeted forelimination.
Thank God that he has them inhis care.
Thank God that he has givenhuman beings anxiety from the
womb so that as we go throughlife we might become conscious
(18:55):
of our need for God's grace andmercy.
Hear the word of the Lord.
"Do not fear, for I am withyou.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you and helpyou.
I will uphold you with myrighteous right hand." Isaiah
(19:17):
chapter 40, verse 31.
Thanks be to God.
Announcer (19:26):
We hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
We encourage you to share itand join us next time on Pro
Life Kitchen Table.
May God bless you.
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