” I will give them the heart to know that I am the Lord, then they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”
– Jeremiah 24:7
Scripture portrays knowing God as a transformative experience characterized by a deep sense of peace, joy and assurance along with a desire to live in accordance with His will. We have seen this happen with patients and clients alike, which brings such meaning to the work we do. Here’s one such story that happened at Hope & Healing recently.
As clients go through the abortion recovery process, journaling and writing in general play a big part of their healing. Part of their work is reconciling anger. One particular older client, let’s call her Martha, was a believer, but after a few weeks realized she had little understanding of what that meant, indeed, she didn’t really know who Christ is. She said she didn’t know what the presence of God would feel like and longed to know. Martha struggled with depression and had been in counseling because of it for years.
Lo and behold, the following week during sharing time she told the group that while writing her (homework) letters she fell to her knees sobbing and cried out to God. She said, when she got up, a calm washed over her body and she knew it was the presence of the Lord. She told them at first she didn’t know what was happening, but joy was overcoming her. We all know what was happening – she was feeling the presence of our Lord.
Here at The Pregnancy & Parenting Center, of which Hope & Healing is a part, we always say we GET to do this life-changing work. Stories like Martha’s are the icing on the cake. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us this great privilege.
Yours in Christ,
Paula