Testimonies are an indispensable element of pro-life ministry. Women’s stories give a human face to the mission of LIFE. Every story in the pro-life movement matters – stories of loss, regret, joy, elation, and everything in-between.
Testimonies make the myriad life decisions facing pregnant women relatable. And the expression of vulnerability is the force that allows a woman to see herself reflected in another woman’s shared experience. Sometimes, this feeling of camaraderie with another woman is exactly what a pregnant mother needs to overcome deep feelings of lonliness when she is contemplating or trying to recover from an abortion.
A testimony about a pregnant mother’s decision to choose life for her unborn child may not resonate if it lacks honesty on what happened between the positive pregnancy test and the delivery room.
But if the testimony reveals the deep angst that a mother felt upon learning she was pregnant, or that she initially intended to undergo an abortion, or that she even made an abortion appointment, but then explains how she was empowered to overcome her fears to make a life-affirming choice, a woman in a similar circumstance may be galvanized to choose life herself.
She is invited to identify with the raw emotion of another woman–one that possessed the courage to share.
Being vulnerable requires boldness. It is easier to hide our vulnerabilities, but the power of sharing them cannot be underestimated.
There’s a saying that encapsulates the journey that women traverse when faced with difficult pregnancy choices: God writes straight with crooked lines. His redemption and His power to save – not only our souls, but our lives and those of our children – bring beauty from the ashes of our sometimes poor decisions.
From the outside, our journeys often appear to have been straighter and simpler than they were, when, in reality, we strayed and failed along the way.
It is in sharing our stories with vulnerability that we bear witness to God’s hand in the journey. And in being vulnerable, we show others the crooked lines that led us straight to Him.
You may not believe it, but your story has a purpose—whether you have had an abortion, chose life, lost a child, been involved in adoption, or have ever faced a difficult decision. Who knows what kind of impact your story could have?
If you have a story—any kind at all—we want to hear it!
