Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

Here is an invitation to healing I originally wrote for Dave Reardon years ago for the "Hope and Healing" newspaper of the Elliot Institute www.afterabortion.org/ . It is now also part of the brochure for the "Entering Canaan" post abortion ministry I developed with The Sisters of Life http://sistersoflife.org/hope-and-healing-after-abortion…after all these years, it still says what I would want to say for all those hurting, so I am posting it here…

To
Those Who Mourn:

It
is said that God can bring good out of all things, even the worst of sins if
the sinner is truly repentant.  There was
a time when I would have found this hard to believe-especially if the sin were
the one I had committed. The “unforgivable” sin of abortion. Now I know through
personnel experience that this is true. God does bring good out of all
things…if we let Him.  I know that some
of you are probably thinking, “but I had more than one abortion” or “mine was
probably worse than hers” or “no one forced me to abort” etc. My answer to you
is this process of healing from abortion isn’t about who you are and what you
have done, it is about who He is and what He has done.  When I look back at where I have come from,
the guilt, the shame, the grief, it is with continual amazement and a deep joy
and gratitude that I live my life now. Instead of doubting His love and
goodness towards me, I have come to expect it.

The
mercy of God for those who dare to take the journey of healing from abortion
with Him in complete trust and abandonment, is there for the taking, bringing
with it a new found life, one that is full of peace.  This peace is there because He now lives
within me. I no longer feel the need to be perfect, I have bared my soul before
the Lord and He has loved me in spite of my imperfections. Even because of
them.  I no longer fear abandonment, for
I have learned He never abandoned me-even after my abortion. Through my healing
He has taught me compassion and mercy for others. I am careful not to judge for
I know where I have come from and how I needed compassion and mercy.  Through my child lost to abortion He has
taught me to truly love not self-centered attachments to satisfy my own needs.
Through the forgiveness I have been shown by God and my child I have learned to
forgive other. Even myself. Because of the love I have found in God I am less
afraid of the suffering we must all face in life because I am not alone in it
but He is always with me.

I
won’t lie to you. It is a difficult journey. You must face yourself honestly.
It is frightening to see the many faults we have and for us who are post
abortive the very things we often have to face are sometimes the same fears
that caused us to choose to abort our children to begin with.  The paradox is that facing these things, like
abandonment, self love, pride etc. are the very things that will set us free
from them and no matter how hard the journey, it is never as difficult as what
you are living with now.

So,
I invite you and pray that you will begin your journey towards healing by
reaching out to those trained to help. By educating yourself on the very real
issues relating to post abortion, and most importantly, by putting your trust
in God even if you don’t  “feel”
trustful.  You are not alone in your
feelings; there are reasons for them. There is no room for “politics” or
controversy in abortion. We have lost our children and need to be allowed to
grieve for them. Through healing you will become a better person in spite of
your abortion. God through His mercy and love is waiting for you.

I
will be praying for you.

Theresa
Bonopartis

Need help? Give is a call: 1-877-485-5621 or email lumina@postabortionhelp.org