Mother’s Day
Rebecca Hagelin offers hope for women who suffer from having an abortion.
By Rebecca Hagelin
Mother’s Day is a wonderful celebration – a time when mothers are honored for their constant love and daily sacrifice, and when life itself is recognized and treasured as the gift that it is.
But for many women who have had abortions, Mother’s Day is one of the biggest triggers of painful memories, regrets, and remorse over what “might have been.”
My heart breaks for these women.
Even though they accepted and believed the messages our society esteems so highly – messages about a woman’s right to choose and the importance of “family planning” – these women have learned, through bitter experience, the truth that abortion is tragic for women.
Though they are free from the responsibility of raising a child, free from the embarrassment of pregnancy, free from financial burden and free to control their own lives, their broken hearts are imprisoned by a sense of great loss, shame and regret.
The even sadder truth is that many Christians, the very people who should show the most compassion to these hurting women, pour their judgment out upon them instead. And when Christians preach judgment rather than forgiveness, they hinder the healing process of not only those women, but the entire nation.
In honor of all those who desperately want to experience the joy of Mother’s Day, but cannot undo the decisions of their past, I share this truth:
Jesus Christ does not condemn you. He only offers healing.
King David, the great psalmist, recorded his own experience with regret in a poem to the Lord. In Psalm 32, we find where he wrote,
> “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long… Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt… And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.”
A little later, in Psalm 34, he went on to write,
> “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.”
The world offers us “control” of our lives. But the Lord offers us freedom from the need to control our lives. In Him we find forgiveness, healing, and life to the full.
If you find yourself suffocating in regret, turn to Jesus. Allow his forgiveness to pour over you so you can find the strength to forgive yourself. And know you are not alone in your pain and you don’t have to be alone in your healing.
