Letter from Debbie
May 14 2009
Greetings:
Belated Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, may God bless each of us to become the best mothers we can be for our families. Although some of us have lost children to abortion, with faith we hope God’s mercy will one day unite us with our children for all eternity...
Belated Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, may God bless each of us to become the best mothers we can be for our families. Although some of us have lost children to abortion, with faith we hope God’s mercy will one day unite us with our children for all eternity...
Greetings:
Belated Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, may God bless each of us to become the best mothers we can be for our families. Although some of us have lost children to abortion, with faith we hope God’s mercy will one day unite us with our children for all eternity.
This is the first newsletter for the year, and I apologize for the delay, but the work load has been very full. I want to thank those who have been praying and fasting for the two beautiful women I have been taking through the 10-step program these last few months. They have both completed the program, and although it was at times very difficult, the Lord has truly blessed them and myself, and I owe that in part to you for your prayers. I feel so privileged to see the Lord working in their lives and to witness their transformation. So thank you…thank you…thank you for your sacrifices. The Lord has truly answered our prayers and blessed these women with His peace!
The beauty of this program is that it meets the woman individually where she is, both in her faith life and in her place of pain. Many women do not come forward until the pain is severe and they feel forced to do something about it. Many times the Lord will give her a nudge and then she knows it’s right. The 10-step program offers her ‘intensive care’ while we work through each of the ten steps.
As facilitator I usually schedule about 3 ½ - 4 hours per session and only take one woman through a day. There is also a lot of time involved in preparing to speak to a variety of groups. I seek to fine tune my testimony to meet the needs of my audience. Public speaking is difficult for me because, by nature, I am a private person. The ability to share my testimony is a grace given by God. Sometimes people will tell me I am brave, but I do it for the love of God, because He first loved me!
In addition to ministry my personal life has been busy with extra family duties. Our daughter needed my help with babysitting while she had weekly prenatal doctor visits. My husband and I were down to one car, so I needed to take him back and forth to work and this trip would take an hour to complete. Then a few months ago my husband was left without a job, when the partners in the business split the company and went separate ways. My husband was able to find work to provide a small income, but it wasn’t enough and our savings was dwindling quickly. I felt my faith and trust in God was sorely put to the test. The words from Matthews’s gospel gave me assurance. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given you.” Once again…TRUST…and once again He provided!
As the program was coming to an end for both women, and the scheduled talks were ending, it seemed that new life began. Someone donated a car for my husband to drive to work, and then a friend gave him a referral for a very good job which needed skills perfectly suited for him….he was immediately hired! Our daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, which was a little miracle in itself. Our daughter had a couple miscarriages but carried this baby to term. Her husband has four brothers and between them, there are ten boys and only one girl, we are so blessed to have another granddaughter! Our son who works construction was called back to work earlier than usual. It just struck me… that as I was working to help women during a very dark time in their life, difficulties and darkness seemed to cover our family. Now that these women have come into the light of God’s grace; light and blessings have come upon our family too! Whew…it’s been a long six months, but it’s definitely worth the effort when you see what God has done. The program may be free to women…but it does come at a cost!
Recently I felt the Lord inspired me with a scripture and reflection to share. In Mark’s Gospel there was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus sitting by the roadside. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he cried out “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” Those around him tried to ‘quiet him’, but he cried out all the louder. When Jesus heard the man, he called him forth; he threw aside his cloak and was taken to Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” he replied “I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Him.
Like this man in the Gospel, women who have experienced abortion, will often speak up and share their abortion without thinking…it just comes! Why…because the one she shares with may be the one who can help. The Lord wants her to deal with the past and begin the path of healing. The non-verbal response she receives from family is often “be quiet”, because they may feel uncomfortable in listening to her pain. But the Lord has heard her cry…and has called her forth. When she responds in faith to the call of Jesus by throwing off the cloak of ‘secrets’ and participates in the healing program, then her faith frees her from the guilt, grief and shame of her past, Jesus restores her spiritual sight and with gratitude she follows Him.
Our late Pope John Paul the Great, revealed to us that we live in a culture of death. It has become a culture that seeks to destroy the foundation of society, our family life, which is ordained and blessed by God. Our Holy Father told us we need to transform our world into a culture of life and love. This is done by living the Gospel, by loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves. We need to embrace with compassion those who lived in darkness and have come into the light. It is an act of charity and a spiritual work of mercy to listen to another who suffers, to give them counsel, to pray with them and for them and their families, this is the work of Healing Hidden Hurts.
Sometimes people will ask me to call a loved one who is suffering from an abortion, not realizing that it all must be done in God’s timing. They see the woman is suffering tremendously and they want to help…that’s when you listen to her… pray for her…and fast for her; then plant the seed (give her my brochure and ask her to call me); continue to pray very much that she receive God’s grace. You may be the only one who is praying for her!! When He calls her forth it is the right time, and she will know the Lord is leading the way. One example: a woman called and said “I saw your ad in the parish bulletin for several weeks, and each time I thought I would call, but this time when I saw the ad…it seemed to jump off the page.” She called immediately…and as she completed the program the panic attacks, sleeplessness, fears etc. disappeared. She is fully living her faith now with confidence and gratitude to God.
Many women seeing a therapist before and during our sessions no longer need them when we finish the program, because often professionals are not able to incorporate the spiritual into their work. Abortion is first and foremost a deep spiritual wound which has emotional ramifications. Healing Hidden Hurts is a spiritual program that uses a therapy model as a tool to lead women suffering from abortion to freedom and peace by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Success lies in the woman being called forth by God (she is ready), and by the faith of the facilitator, who allows the Holy Spirit to do His work through her according to the needs of the woman… the Lord heals her because it’s in His time, and it’s His plan.
Today there are ten areas in Indiana where this 10-step program is available, and 11 women have been helped so far this year. In addition to Indianapolis, facilitators are in Carmel, Lafayette, West Lafayette, South Bend, Portland, Shelbyville, Columbus and Batesville. The Facilitator Training will be offered again this fall, so please pray and discern if the Lord is calling you to facilitate women in your community! He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. Then heals the women…one woman at a time!
You may not be able to facilitate women through a healing program, or speak to thousands of people about your abortion as I do, but you can participate by supporting this ministry with your gifts of time, talent and treasure. If you have talents to share you may consider becoming a volunteer or joining our Board of Directors. By your financial gifts you are enabling me to help these women and train others as the Lord has called me to do. It is the Lords work…He calls them forth to serve…He calls them forth to be healed! Please pray and consider if the Lord is calling you forth…to support His work!
God bless,
Debbie
Belated Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, may God bless each of us to become the best mothers we can be for our families. Although some of us have lost children to abortion, with faith we hope God’s mercy will one day unite us with our children for all eternity.
This is the first newsletter for the year, and I apologize for the delay, but the work load has been very full. I want to thank those who have been praying and fasting for the two beautiful women I have been taking through the 10-step program these last few months. They have both completed the program, and although it was at times very difficult, the Lord has truly blessed them and myself, and I owe that in part to you for your prayers. I feel so privileged to see the Lord working in their lives and to witness their transformation. So thank you…thank you…thank you for your sacrifices. The Lord has truly answered our prayers and blessed these women with His peace!
The beauty of this program is that it meets the woman individually where she is, both in her faith life and in her place of pain. Many women do not come forward until the pain is severe and they feel forced to do something about it. Many times the Lord will give her a nudge and then she knows it’s right. The 10-step program offers her ‘intensive care’ while we work through each of the ten steps.
As facilitator I usually schedule about 3 ½ - 4 hours per session and only take one woman through a day. There is also a lot of time involved in preparing to speak to a variety of groups. I seek to fine tune my testimony to meet the needs of my audience. Public speaking is difficult for me because, by nature, I am a private person. The ability to share my testimony is a grace given by God. Sometimes people will tell me I am brave, but I do it for the love of God, because He first loved me!
In addition to ministry my personal life has been busy with extra family duties. Our daughter needed my help with babysitting while she had weekly prenatal doctor visits. My husband and I were down to one car, so I needed to take him back and forth to work and this trip would take an hour to complete. Then a few months ago my husband was left without a job, when the partners in the business split the company and went separate ways. My husband was able to find work to provide a small income, but it wasn’t enough and our savings was dwindling quickly. I felt my faith and trust in God was sorely put to the test. The words from Matthews’s gospel gave me assurance. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given you.” Once again…TRUST…and once again He provided!
As the program was coming to an end for both women, and the scheduled talks were ending, it seemed that new life began. Someone donated a car for my husband to drive to work, and then a friend gave him a referral for a very good job which needed skills perfectly suited for him….he was immediately hired! Our daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, which was a little miracle in itself. Our daughter had a couple miscarriages but carried this baby to term. Her husband has four brothers and between them, there are ten boys and only one girl, we are so blessed to have another granddaughter! Our son who works construction was called back to work earlier than usual. It just struck me… that as I was working to help women during a very dark time in their life, difficulties and darkness seemed to cover our family. Now that these women have come into the light of God’s grace; light and blessings have come upon our family too! Whew…it’s been a long six months, but it’s definitely worth the effort when you see what God has done. The program may be free to women…but it does come at a cost!
Recently I felt the Lord inspired me with a scripture and reflection to share. In Mark’s Gospel there was a blind beggar named Bartimaeus sitting by the roadside. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he cried out “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!” Those around him tried to ‘quiet him’, but he cried out all the louder. When Jesus heard the man, he called him forth; he threw aside his cloak and was taken to Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” he replied “I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Him.
Like this man in the Gospel, women who have experienced abortion, will often speak up and share their abortion without thinking…it just comes! Why…because the one she shares with may be the one who can help. The Lord wants her to deal with the past and begin the path of healing. The non-verbal response she receives from family is often “be quiet”, because they may feel uncomfortable in listening to her pain. But the Lord has heard her cry…and has called her forth. When she responds in faith to the call of Jesus by throwing off the cloak of ‘secrets’ and participates in the healing program, then her faith frees her from the guilt, grief and shame of her past, Jesus restores her spiritual sight and with gratitude she follows Him.
Our late Pope John Paul the Great, revealed to us that we live in a culture of death. It has become a culture that seeks to destroy the foundation of society, our family life, which is ordained and blessed by God. Our Holy Father told us we need to transform our world into a culture of life and love. This is done by living the Gospel, by loving God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves. We need to embrace with compassion those who lived in darkness and have come into the light. It is an act of charity and a spiritual work of mercy to listen to another who suffers, to give them counsel, to pray with them and for them and their families, this is the work of Healing Hidden Hurts.
Sometimes people will ask me to call a loved one who is suffering from an abortion, not realizing that it all must be done in God’s timing. They see the woman is suffering tremendously and they want to help…that’s when you listen to her… pray for her…and fast for her; then plant the seed (give her my brochure and ask her to call me); continue to pray very much that she receive God’s grace. You may be the only one who is praying for her!! When He calls her forth it is the right time, and she will know the Lord is leading the way. One example: a woman called and said “I saw your ad in the parish bulletin for several weeks, and each time I thought I would call, but this time when I saw the ad…it seemed to jump off the page.” She called immediately…and as she completed the program the panic attacks, sleeplessness, fears etc. disappeared. She is fully living her faith now with confidence and gratitude to God.
Many women seeing a therapist before and during our sessions no longer need them when we finish the program, because often professionals are not able to incorporate the spiritual into their work. Abortion is first and foremost a deep spiritual wound which has emotional ramifications. Healing Hidden Hurts is a spiritual program that uses a therapy model as a tool to lead women suffering from abortion to freedom and peace by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Success lies in the woman being called forth by God (she is ready), and by the faith of the facilitator, who allows the Holy Spirit to do His work through her according to the needs of the woman… the Lord heals her because it’s in His time, and it’s His plan.
Today there are ten areas in Indiana where this 10-step program is available, and 11 women have been helped so far this year. In addition to Indianapolis, facilitators are in Carmel, Lafayette, West Lafayette, South Bend, Portland, Shelbyville, Columbus and Batesville. The Facilitator Training will be offered again this fall, so please pray and discern if the Lord is calling you to facilitate women in your community! He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. Then heals the women…one woman at a time!
You may not be able to facilitate women through a healing program, or speak to thousands of people about your abortion as I do, but you can participate by supporting this ministry with your gifts of time, talent and treasure. If you have talents to share you may consider becoming a volunteer or joining our Board of Directors. By your financial gifts you are enabling me to help these women and train others as the Lord has called me to do. It is the Lords work…He calls them forth to serve…He calls them forth to be healed! Please pray and consider if the Lord is calling you forth…to support His work!
God bless,
Debbie