A Study Experience
What was it like to attend the bible study?
After years of going to secular and Christian counselors for help, I was referred by a friend to New Journey Ministries. After I received the business card, it still took me another year or two before I actually got up the courage to write an email to NJM. I had been so disappointed in the past with counseling that I wasn’t ready to face disappointment again and not experience any relief from my pain. Knowing what I know now, I would have called them right away!
In response to my email, I got a phone call from one of the ladies at NJM who answered all of my questions. I left confident that my secret was safe with her. We talked at little bit about my experience and she shared with me her own story about her abortions and her experience going through the study. This put me at ease knowing I was finally talking to someone who could relate to my pain and my experiences. She was very at ease talking about all this. Deep down I wished that I too had this sense of peace and healing that was evident in this lady. It gave me hope that this truly was the answer I had been praying for all this time. Before we hung up, she gave me information about the next bible study that would be taking place. She gave me the date, time and location and we agreed that I would begin the next study.
During the time leading up to the first meeting, I began to get really nervous about having to dredge all these old feelings up again. I had gotten pretty good over the years at stuffing all those feelings or avoiding the topic all together. What was I thinking? How can I do this? What will they think of me when they find out I have done this more than once? Lots of anxiety and worry flooded my thoughts, but I was determined to stay the course and see this through to completion. I know now that there were women in the ministry who knew what I was experiencing and were already praying for me during this time. They didn’t know my name, but they were praying for all of us.
The day had come for our first meeting. Some of the ladies looked even more terrified than I do. Who would have thought! I met the leader and her assistant and there were some sodas and snacks that we could lean on for a little comfort during this first meeting. Everyone was really nice. Come to find out some of these ladies had never told a single person that they had an abortion. Once we were all there we sat in a circle and our leader shared a little bit of her story with us and so did the assistant. Everyone there had been through similar experiences to mine and it was comforting to know they not only wouldn’t be judging me for my decision to abort, but they also understood my ongoing pain for having made that decision. The leader shared the ground rules for our meetings which gave me a sense of peace about what was expected of the entire group. We were given a bible study book and some materials and were told what our homework for the next week would be. We adjourned the meeting and I went home to begin my first week’s lesson.
Each week I prepared for the meeting by completing the homework assignment and each week we discussed the next chapter in the bible study together. I can’t tell you how much it helped to hear the other ladies were feeling the same feelings, having the same thoughts and the same experiences as I was. All these years I thought I was crazy, but just knowing how many parts of my life had been affected and why they were affected really opened my eyes. Some weeks were harder than others. Sometimes we laughed, sometimes we cried, but each week I felt that little by little I was beginning to heal my heart. It helped just as much to talk about my own experiences as it did to hear everyone else’s stories too. By the end of the final week all of the ladies got together for one final meeting and celebration. It was over! We all look so different! We all went through not only a mental change in this process, but a physical one too. I wish I had a before and after picture to show you. We are such different people now then we were at that very first meeting. All the long hours of doing homework and attending meetings….I truly feel changed and healed. It was worth every minute. I really feel like I have been set free from a life of bondage.
If you are someone who is living with the pain of having taken part in an abortion decision, don’t wait another minute! Contact us today and start on a New Journey towards healing.