{"id":7897,"date":"2013-01-18T16:47:22","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T21:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=7897"},"modified":"2013-01-18T16:47:22","modified_gmt":"2013-01-18T21:47:22","slug":"every-choice-has-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/every-choice-has-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Choice Has Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parents make it a point to teach their children that every choice has consequences.<\/strong> Good choices tend to have good consequences, and bad choices have difficult consequences. For some reason, by the time we enter adulthood, we seem to forget this. We think that in order to protect ourselves from unseen forces, we need to make some choices we’d rather not. Like abortion. Suicide. Drug use. These are choices people consider when we see no other option, no silver lining to the cloud, no light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

What we forget to consider are the consequences that come with each of these choices. The death that occurs within a woman’s heart after she has an abortion. The grief family and friends feel when a person commits suicide. The danger a drug addict or alcoholic places their family members in. And every one of these consequences stems from a selfish decision.<\/p>\n

Admit it or not, your right to choose affects yourself and<\/em> those around you.<\/strong> Although I cannot speak for the person who considers taking their own life or the man who runs to alcohol to drown out the day’s worries, I can speak as a woman who has been through the trauma of an abortion. Here are a few of the consequences of my “right to choose”:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Every time I saw a baby<\/strong>–which was every day, since I babysat a six-month-old–I wished I could have my own.<\/strong> You see, I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. I wanted to have any child I became pregnant with, in or out of wedlock. I chose to abort because I felt utterly alone in the world. My boyfriend didn’t want to have a child. He wanted to finish his nursing degree. My father wanted to save face when I had a pregnancy scare in high school. I couldn’t tell him I had become pregnant in college. My best friend had made her decision and wouldn’t encourage mine one way or the other. And forget the counselor at Planned Parenthood. She refused to offer me any other option. I think it was against policy…<\/p>\n

2. My parents are minus a grandchild, and they know it.<\/strong> I called my mother just after I’d had the abortion. What I didn’t know is that my parents had found a really great church since I’d been home last. They’d met Jesus. They’d made Him Lord of their lives. My mother wished I’d called sooner. She would have told me to keep the baby, and Dad would have agreed. Heap on another mountain or two of guilt.<\/p>\n

3. Every time I became pregnant after I married, I wondered if I would carry full-term.<\/strong> I wondered if God would punish me by taking the life I wanted to bring forth. The two times I miscarried were extremely painful, and until I gave birth to my second child, I doubted I ever would give birth again.<\/p>\n

4. I have to fill out new medical forms every time I go to a new doctor<\/strong>, which is often since we move every two years with my husband’s career. Every time, they want to know how many times I’ve been pregnant, how many times I’ve been pregnant, how many times I’ve carried full-term, and how many times I’ve aborted. I have to relive the shame of abortion every time I meet a new family physician or gynecologist. Some may say it’s not shameful. Some may be indifferent. Good for them. I’m not, and it’s a burden I carry every day.<\/p>\n

5. Every time I hear another woman say she made her decision and she’s fine with it, my heart breaks for her.<\/strong> Why? Because I know that she’s either buried the pain and dreads bringing it up so she can heal. Or, she’s hardened her heart to any type of conviction. Some people don’t want to be healed, because they don’t think they’re sick. Such a sad state to live in.<\/p>\n

Most of us want to heal. And most of us don’t want a Band-aid for the gaping wound on our hearts, when it really requires stitches. So where does a post-abortive woman turn to for healing?<\/p>\n

KnockTV<\/a> is releasing its first online television series on January 22, 2013. The series is entitled Surrender the Secret<\/em><\/a>, and all ten episodes will air online. What’s so great about this is that anyone can watch it in the privacy of their own home, their own room, on their laptop or mobile device. No one needs to see you surrender your secret.<\/strong> You can go before God alone and discover that you are not alone. In the show, five women go through a Bible Study titled Surrendering the Secret<\/em>. We are blessed to be able to hear their stories, watch them struggle through the painful road of recovery, and recognize God’s grace and love for each and every one of us. I highly encourage you to watch<\/a>, purchase the Bible Study materials<\/a>, and find a group near you.<\/p>\n