Forgiven and Set Free Episode 1 - How Do You Know You Need Healing

Hello, we are so excited you are here with us. This is the first step to your healing journey. My name is Lovette and this amazing woman sitting next to me is my co-worker and close friend Jill. Thank you guys for being here and for taking this step. We want you to know that you are welcome here. Amen, amen. We both serve at a non-profit organization called Care Net. One of Care Net's main reasons for existing is to offer compassion, hope, and help. See Care Net gets it. Sometimes life seems painful, complicated, and just plain old overwhelming. You know my story includes abortion and so does Lovette's. And Lovette has walked with women on this journey for many years. We recognize that women are carrying pain and deep grief that they have not even been able to process yet. That is so true. This series is called Forgiveness Ephory. Forgiveness Ephory was created to walk women towards their healing journey, spiritually, physically, and relationally. See it doesn't matter if you had an abortion a year ago or 20 years ago. Care Net is here to walk with you however you've been affected by an abortion. And because it's part of our story, we understand what it feels like to be in your situation. We want you to know that you don't have to share your story. You don't have to explain yourself. We're just glad that you're here and we are excited to walk this journey with you. Yes and amen. Throughout this series, you'll get to meet some of our amazing friends. They are going to open us in prayer and close us in prayer. They are honored to be here with you. They're going to pray for you and with you.

Everything that you're going to encounter here is an invitation. It is not a requirement. Feel free at any point in time to pause, to take a break, and then come back to this when you're ready. So if you're here already, guess what? The secret is out. We already know that God is gently inviting you towards your healing journey. Now before we jump into the conversation, I'm going to want you to go back and read chapter one of Forgiven and Set Free and make sure you have your Bible, pen, and a notebook with you. Now stop the video and go gather those things and we'll be right here waiting for you. Before we begin, I want to say something clear to you. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Healing cannot be rushed. And guess what? God is not in a hurry. In Psalms 34 18, let me read this to you. It says, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit. That means God doesn't pull away from pain. He draws near it. To make this journey safe and fruitful, let's commit to the following. Pause, pray, and reflect. Slow is okay. Hey, you're going to need to trust the process. Every grief journey is different. Stay present and sober minded. And if you need to loop your chaplain or a counselor in that you are taking this course, by showing up today, you're saying yes to growth. Hi, I'm Corey. I'm so glad to be here with you today.

Let us go to God in prayer. Father God, your word says, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Would you pour out your compassion on these women? Would you comfort broken and hurting hearts? Would you draw near as we begin this healing journey? Go before us in this conversation. Speak to our souls. In Jesus' name, amen. Many women access up this quiet question that they're too afraid to say out loud. Do I really need healing? Scripture tells us something very important. Psalms 56 verse 8 says, you keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. Man, that's some good news. God does not minimize. by his pain. He noticed it. He remembers it. Healing isn't about how strong you are. It's about rather there has been a loss that needs care. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 5, 4, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mourning is not a weakness. You know, mourning means that something mattered. And when something mattered, when it's something that we've lost, grief is a natural response. You know, Jill, some women wonder why abortion still affects them years later. And I know I was one of those. It was like 20 years later. The Bible gives a great insight on that. Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11 says, He has also set eternity in the human heart. Wow, that's powerful because we are created to love, to attach and to carry meaning. Listen, when a loss go unnamed, unmourned, the heart keeps holding it quietly. You may want to ask yourself the following questions as you are working through this. What emotions surface when I think about my abortion? Are there specific moments of sadness or of grief or does numbness show up unexpectedly? Psalm 62, 8 invites us, pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge. You don't have to find the right words right now. You know, God understands the language of our heart.

Praise God for that. I want y'all to hear from a good friend of mine. Her name is Phyllis, also known as Peanut. Her story may feel familiar. My name is Phyllis Antivo-Ochoa. I'm 32 years old. I'm from San Antonio, Texas, originally born in California, but I grew up in San Antonio with my grandparents who raised me. My mother was in prison. My father was deported in Mexico. I have two sisters and my uncle also lived in the house with us. We had pretty much a bunch of freedom in my house growing up, so there was really no discipline. I think my grandparents might have felt bad for us because we didn't have our parents, so they wanted us to be happy, so they kind of just let us run around and spoiled us. There wasn't much of a connection there. We didn't really talk about things if there was any problems. We just kind of brushed things under the rug. We didn't talk to each other, things like that, so there wasn't much of a connection there. I didn't know Jesus in my household. The only thing we knew about Jesus was don't say bad words, and Jesus doesn't like when you're being mean to your sister, or that's pretty much all I knew. Hey, if you recognize yourself in what you're hearing, I know I do too. It doesn't mean that something is wrong with you. It may mean something is ready to be cared for. In Isaiah 61, verse 1, it tells us that God came to bind up the brokenhearted. Binding is careful, it's gentle, and it takes time. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for seeing us. Thank you for knowing us. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. Thank you that nothing we've been through is hidden from you or has caught you by surprise. I pray that through this study, you would allow your daughter to walk the journey of healing that you have for her. I am grateful that you are a healer and you can make her whole. We are putting our trust in you. In Jesus' name, amen. Take some time this week to read chapter 2 in your Forgiveness Set Free book. Let the words meet you where you are. You may want to notice what stands out, a simple sentence, a single phrase. Let me tell you something, it is in the smallest of moments when God is the loudest. Thank you for being here. What you are doing takes courage. Lovett and I know that so well. When you start reading chapter 2, I want you to know that you are not alone.

I want you to know it's all about the character and nature of God. It happens to be my favorite chapter in Forgiven and Set Free. Make sure you take your time as you're going through it. There is so much there. You might have this perception of God that isn't accurate, and you're going to get to see who He really is. You know, there is nothing that you've done that places you outside of His reach. We look forward to seeing you in the next episode.