“So, tell us about yourself and what God has done in your life lately.” The question came, from the petite blonde gal sitting across from me. She was part of my friend’s prayer group, the same group that surrounded me now, sitting in the back of Starbucks sharing prayer requests and real life stories. I was the newbie. Having never been part of a group like this and still a relatively new Christian, the question took me a bit by surprise. I looked around the group, took a deep breath, and then verbally vomited my story onto the table. “Well, I’m a wife, mom of two young boys, and former high school teacher. We just moved to Spokane this year and as for what God has done in my life, this past fall He showed me that I have a son in heaven.
“I had been at a point where my intense anger had taken over my family and I was in danger of losing them. Through a friend’s prayer, God had revealed to me that the root of my anger was guilt over the abortion I had had at 17. In walking through the healing process with my friend, I had an encounter with Jesus Christ where He appeared to me and told me I am forgiven and my son is waiting for me in heaven.”
As you can imagine, there was stunned silence around the table. Who shares that kind of stuff?! The gals quickly rallied and thanked me for sharing. We prayed for each other that night, and I remember leaving wondering what the heck I had been thinking in sharing what I had on the first night. Then my phone rang and it was the petite blonde from our group.
“Glendie, I can’t believe you shared what you did tonight! I’ve only told my husband this, but I also had an abortion when I was younger. My heart aches and I am overwhelmed by the guilt. What do I do?” One week later another gal from the group called me with a similar story.
It is a process that I have seen God recreate in my life over and over as I share my story. And what I continue to hear from other post-abortive women is that our stories all have similar themes. We found ourselves pregnant at a young age, feeling like our back was up against a wall with no other choice than to choose abortion. Our financial circumstances, our living situation, the people in our lives, the father of the baby, our education, our fear… one or all of these pressed in on us, suffocating any hope that we could carry our baby to term. A decade or so beyond that first prayer group meeting, I am now the executive director of Life Services and MyChoice Clinics. What strikes me as I listen to the young pregnant women coming in to our clinic now, years after I had found myself in their situation, is that their stories are no different than mine was! In fact, I hear the same themes. Boyfriends, parents (more Christian parents, lately), finances, circumstances, school, fear… these all press in trying to snuff out any hope of carrying their baby to term. A baby the majority of them truly want to bring into this world. Thankfully, we at Life Services get the privilege of coming alongside these young women and the fathers-to-be who are willing to stand by them and provide practical help and Christ-centered hope. Last year (2017) we saw 1402 young men and women through our MyChoice clinics for pregnancy testing, ultrasound, STD testing, pre-natal care and such. We are well on our way to surpass those numbers in 2018.
With each of those visits, we get the opportunity to plant a seed for Christ with loving, practical care and focused prayer. We get to speak into destructive lifestyle choices with love and compassion. We get to resource those needing addiction services, further medical care, housing, and beyond. Last year our maternity home hosted 15 young pregnant women who found themselves in a housing crisis due to their pregnancy. Our maternity home’s family-oriented environment allowed them to experience healthy family, spiritual restoration, educational and employment opportunities, and parenting and nutrition classes, all in the spirit of providing hope and healing and giving these young mothers a healthy start to parenthood.
As a licensed placing agency, Life Services recruits and trains host homes (homes just like your own) for young women and their babies to move into following their stay in our maternity home. By providing our maternity home and follow-up after care programs, we significantly decrease the number of unwed mothers living on state assistance which is ultimately a benefit for all of us. Our affiliate ministry, AbAnon, provided post-abortion care to over 100 women and men this past year.
As women heal from the pain and guilt of abortion, we see marriages, family relationships, and mental and emotional health restored to men and women who lived under a cloud of guilt for way too long. 18,000 babies were aborted in Washington state in 2017, creating giant holes in the hearts of their mothers and fathers. Those young people walk around now carrying an internal wound they allow no one to see until it comes out in self-destructive behavior, anger, apathy towards future children, addictions, and more. Thankfully, Life Services and MyChoice clinics have the ability, heart and the mission to address and minister within every reason a woman might give to have an abortion. For over 27 years, we have been providing a beacon of hope to the young women and men in Spokane, being a safe place for them in times of crisis and consistently pointing them back to God, whose image we were all created in.
But we couldn’t do what we do without ministry partners like KMBI Moody radio, which brings God’s Word to life over the airwaves. They have been a big part of helping us deliver the message that God values life, from the womb to the tomb. Moody brings a God-centered approach to radio and operates within the truth that the Word of God is living and active and able to minister right to our thoughts and attitudes. Through listening to The Word and singing along with the beautiful worship songs Moody plays we can be changed by God.
We are thrilled to partner with KMBI Moody radio this January 2019 as we bring forward our Life is Valuable campaign. From January 1-31, 2019, we will be raising funds for both KMBI and Life Services to ensure that God’s Word continues to be delivered on the air through Moody radio and that practical help and hope be delivered on the ground through Life Services. You can be a part of making an impact for life in Spokane by visiting lifeservices.org/life page and giving to the Life is Valuable campaign. All proceeds will be split evenly between both ministries which gives you, the giver, twice the giving power. With 1400 non-profits in town, you get to give to two ministries with one click of the mouse.
As a post-abortive woman now healed from the guilt and shame of my own abortion, I am so grateful for the grace of God. But looking back, I wish I had known about Life Services and MyChoice clinics when I was 17. When I felt like I had no other choice but abortion. I wish someone had fully processed all of my choices, resources and strengths with me. I wish someone had chosen to stand with me and whisper in my ear, “You can carry this baby. You can do this, and I will be here to help.” Will you make that possible for one more young person this year by joining us in our Life is Valuable campaign? Your gift truly can make all the difference for one little life.
Many Blessings, Glendie Loranger, Executive Director of Life Services and MyChoice Clinics