O propósito do meu bebê

O propósito do meu bebê

blog da Luci

Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

II Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Growing up in my dysfunctional family, which included neglect and sexual, physical, and verbal abuse, did not equip me to care for or respect myself as I grew in the way God intended for me. I spent many years allowing others, especially men, to use and take advantage of me for sexual purposes. Na época em que eu estava 15, I was deeply wounded and hurting. My way of coping was to act out in self-destructive ways. As I mentioned earlier, I allowed others to use me. I also drank daily and experimented with most drugs, including mind-altering substances.

I had no hope that anything in my life would improve but that it would just continue to get worse until I died. I was so angry at the way I had been treated by my father and brothers but didn’t understand how to break out of this pattern of destructive behavior.

Na idade de 24, I slept with a man whom I hardly knew. Na verdade, I couldn’t even tell you his name. All I know was that he said all the right things that my heart longed to hear: that he cared for me, really wanted to be with me, and made me feel special, even if it was just for a brief time. He kept insisting that we have sex, and I resisted at first but then gave in when he said he had a vasectomy, since that meant he could not get me pregnant.

I was desperate for this man’s attention but certainly didn’t want to have a baby with him! But like most of the men I opened my life up to, he had lied to me and much to my dismay, I became pregnant. I was devastated and felt a sense of desperation as to how I would “fix” this predicament I was in. Of course, the guy who said he cared so much about me left the scene as soon as he got what he wanted.

I confided in a friend that had introduced me to him. I remember that she had a 9-year-old daughter and no husband, and it was clear that she resented her daughter greatly by the way she treated her. She told me to “Get rid of it; you don’t want a kid!” All I could think about was how I didn’t want to end up like this woman, mistreating my own child! então, against my better judgement and my conscience that told me “NO, this is wrong,” I chose to abort the only child I would ever conceive.

I cried every night when no one was around to see my pain. I cried for myself because of how empty this act made me feel, but mostly for this innocent child whose life I had taken so violently. I cried unconsolably, every night for months. Not knowing my Lord Jesus Christ at that time, I had no one to turn to for forgiveness and healing. As I look back on this desperate act of selfishness, I realize this was the final self-destructive thing that drove me into the arms of God! I just couldn’t live with the emptiness and pain anymore. Nine months after my abortion, I surrendered my life to Jesus, asked forgiveness for my sins, and began to walk in the newness of life that He offers to all who come to Him in humility.

I want to read a section of the letter to the baby I named Gabriella, which means “God is My Strength”:

Although your earthly life was so short, you impacted mine for eternity because precisely nine months after I allowed that abortion clinic to strip you away from my womb, I was born again! And on that amazing day, my heart, soul, and spirit were transformed from darkness and condemnation into the forgiving and precious light of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit! God took our pain and ashes and turned them into eternal beauty!

I am pouring much of my life into other women who have experienced the pain and grief of abortion by helping them to acknowledge and heal from this event. I love you with all my heart, my precious little one, and I will see you soon!

Your forgiven Mom

 

What purpose did your unborn child serve in your life?

 

Did it move you towards God or away from Him?

 

Additional portions of letters to the unborn:

Beloved, God knows your life was not a mistake. Your life spurred me to a deeper faith and a passion for Christ. God showed me grace, love, and healing in ways that I can’t describe. He used all these things for good (Rom 8:28). Your life allowed me to defend the defenseless, to value life in the womb, and to have compassion for the hurting moms who fell into the same trap as I did. God numbers our days and although yours were few, they continue to fuel my passion.

I, your mother, hold you in my arms today in a way I could not 10 years ago because I feared to look into your eyes and to hear Gods voice speak through the gentle grasp of your fingers saying choose life.” In the light of my mind, I now behold you, my first child—the first of three girls. Do you know that you have two sisters? Do you know that your life has given great meaning to their lives? Because of you, I cherish the very breath of life God has gifted me and those whom I hold close to my heart.

As I embrace you today and always, I let go of shame, guilt, humiliation, rejection, abandonment, pride, and pain. I reject the lies that once kept your memory hidden in darkness far from the light of truth. My love, my beautiful baby girl, you were never forgotten.

Heaven has documented each moment of your existence in the book of life. Now, it is time for me to write your page into the story of my life.

In the years to come, when we find ourselves reunited in the spirit, I will delight in the unfolding of your unique personality woven together with the experience of your brief, yet significant life. For now, sweetheart, I entrust your care and protection to the Father, whose plans for you are greater than either you or I can imagine.

I named you Joseph because what the enemy meant for evil, God turned around for my good and for His glory. He exchanged my ashes into something beautiful. Joseph, you inspired a ministry called My Ashes to Beauty to help other moms heal from their past abortions.

 

Bênçãos,

Lúcia

 

 

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Eu Sou a Flor Silvestre de Deus

Eu Sou a Flor Silvestre de Deus

Blog de Luci

I was part of the sexual Abuse Recovery Bible Study with a small group of women through the “My Ashes To Beauty” ministry. And when I agreed to participate, I figured it had been so many decades since the abuses took place that there wouldn’t be any new discoveries. Well, it turns out there were things that I had not yet processed, even with all the counseling I had over the years.

I had the opportunity to mourn the loss of a safe and happy childhood and teen years that every girl deserves to experience. One of the things that really moved me is when we shared photos of the timeframe that we lost our innocence. I felt such compassion for the other women’s photos and how precious and vulnerable they appeared at the time of their abuses. When I looked at my photo, I felt such love and mercy for the young adolescent girl, that was me; I shed tears over that. I didn’t see myself back then, the way I now do. I had blamed myself for the abuses and couldn’t see beyond how it defined me. I was reminded over the course of this study that I am God’s precious and adored daughter! And that was definitely a good thing to allow to sink into my heart!

As I got to know the women in this intimate setting and hear their stories, I realized, I’m not alone in this, that others have experienced similar atrocities and it endeared me to them. We bonded in a way that goes beyond a typical group gathering for prayer or Bible study. I got the sense that God brought this particular group together so we could pray for, encourage and show one another that there is further healing and work to be done. The prayers that were prayed over us was like a healing balm that sunk deep into my soul!

Sexual abuse recovery takes time, as we peel away layers of false beliefs and negative thinking which keeps us in bondage and from moving further on the beautiful path that God has for each of us to walk. Not only do we need to continue to grow in Him, but He also wants to use us to show others the healing and forgiveness that is waiting for them, through His love. This study ws a safe place to share and be vulnerable with like-minded women.

His beloved,

Lúcia

 

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Minha identidade em cristo (Parte 1 & 2)

Minha identidade em cristo (Parte 1 & 2)

blog da Luci

Minha identidade em cristo (Parte 1)

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Portanto, se alguém está em Cristo, ele (ela) é uma nova criação. O velho já passou; contemplar, o novo chegou.”

Romanos 8:1 “Portanto, agora nenhuma condenação há para aqueles que estão em Cristo Jesus.”

John 15:15 “Já não os chamo de servos, pois o servo não sabe o que seu senhor está fazendo; mas eu chamei vocês de amigos, pois tudo o que ouvi de meu Pai eu vos revelei”.

Quando eu era uma garotinha, Lembro-me de ter uma sensação geral de felicidade e liberdade por ser criança. Mas à medida que fui crescendo e comecei a desenvolver a consciência da minha identidade dentro da minha unidade familiar e fui vítima de abuso verbal e físico, minha perspectiva sobre quem eu era começou a mudar.

Na minha mente, eu era feio, estúpido, e geral, uma garota patética que ninguém amava ou queria estar. Lembro-me de meu pai dizendo repetidamente, “Por que você não pode ser como seu irmão ou por que você não pode ser como sua irmã?”Ele estava se referindo aos irmãos mais velhos que seguiram em frente e se tornaram bem-sucedidos, em seus olhos. Por causa de sua frustração e raiva desenfreada, ele atacou e nos fez sentir indesejados enquanto nos rebaixava, abusando de nós verbalmente. Minha mãe era uma pessoa quieta, mulher submissa com múltiplos (total de 15) crianças para cuidar. Ela não estava envolvida em nossas vidas, exceto para cuidar de nossas necessidades físicas. E os irmãos que ainda estavam em casa, me tratou com grande desprezo e me batia regularmente. Na idade 11, Eu estava sendo molestado por dois dos meus irmãos mais velhos e aos 12, Perdi minha virgindade com um homem viciado em drogas que era 14 anos mais velho, que morava no bairro. Ele literalmente se aproveitou da minha necessidade desesperada de amor e carinho e me convenceu a cooperar com suas intenções egoístas.. Eu não contei a ninguém, pois pensei que eles iriam me culpar; Eu acreditei em meu jovem coração que a culpa era minha.

Eu me senti um fracasso, que quando eu era um jovem adolescente, Comecei a me medicar com vinho e cerveja, e em um ponto, Eu me senti tão sem esperança, Eu tentei tirar minha própria vida! Obviamente, Eu não tive sucesso, mas na hora, Eu acreditava que era um fracasso mesmo assim! Eu não apenas me sentia indigno de ser amado, mas também me sentia sujo e tinha um grande sentimento de vergonha que me cobria como uma nuvem espessa..

À medida que cresci na minha adolescência, Continuei a abusar do álcool, adicionando bebidas destiladas e foi apresentado a todos os tipos de drogas ilegais, que experimentei diariamente. Vivi uma vida destrutiva de abuso de substâncias e promiscuidade. E com a idade 24, Cometi o que pensei ser uma ofensa imperdoável ao fazer um aborto, essencialmente encerrando a vida do que viria a ser meu único filho biológico. Este evento me mergulhou ainda mais profundamente em uma sensação de auto-aversão e vazio que eu ainda não havia experimentado. Na época em que eu estava 25, meu senso de autoestima estava no abismo; Eu não tinha esperança nem propósito para o meu futuro.

Então aconteceu! O Senhor Jesus, que me perseguiu durante anos através do testemunho de outros seguidores de Cristo, abri meus olhos para Sua incrível aceitação, amor e misericórdia por mim. E posso me lembrar da sensação de esperança e amor que fluiu através de mim como um rio caudaloso! Foi incrível! Minha autoperspectiva mudou naquele dia. Ousei acreditar que poderia ser algo mais do que havia me estabelecido. E embarquei em uma missão para toda a vida para conhecer o Deus que estaria disposto a morrer por mim, um patético, pecaminoso, garota feia e estúpida. Demorou anos de leitura da Bíblia, apoio de outros crentes em Jesus e algum aconselhamento bíblico, para eu aceitar minha nova identidade enquanto abracei 2 Corinthians 5:17, o que nos diz, “Portanto, se alguém está em Cristo, ele (ela) é uma nova criação. O velho já passou; contemplar, o novo chegou.”

Hoje, depois de caminhar com o Senhor por mais 37 anos, tendo Seu incrível Espírito Santo vivendo em mim, Aceito a verdade de que sou a filha preciosa de Deus, amado e querido além dos meus sonhos mais loucos! Ele me deu dignidade, autoestima e uma esperança futura. Já não me condeno porque segundo Romanos 8:1, “Portanto, agora nenhuma condenação há para aqueles que estão em Cristo Jesus.” Não aceito mais a tentativa dos outros de me manipular ou me rebaixar. Compreendi que posso ter limites e permanecer no controle, pelo poder e orientação do Espírito Santo.

Bênçãos,

Lúcia

Ver Minha identidade em cristo (Parte 2) abaixo.

 

blog da Luci

Minha identidade em cristo (Parte 2)

 

QUESTÕES:

Qual é a sua identidade? Como é diferente de quando você conheceu e recebeu Jesus como seu Senhor?

Enquanto Jesus andava pela terra, ensinando e pregando sobre o Reino de Deus, Ele validou as mulheres e mostrou-lhes grande misericórdia e respeito. Ele foi contra a cultura em que viviam. Em contraste, a cultura deles os tratava como cidadãos de 3ª classe, com poucos direitos ou respeito. Ele aceitou, curado, amou e os ensinou. E Ele está disponível para fazer o mesmo por você e por mim hoje!

De acordo com Romanos 8:17, aqueles que se arrependeram de seus pecados e receberam Jesus como seu Senhor e Salvador, tornar-se Seus herdeiros (que é aquele que recebe a propriedade de uma propriedade e tudo o que há nela), mas neste caso, estamos recebendo o Reino de Deus em toda a sua incrível beleza e perfeição. Somos filhas preciosas e amadas do Rei e seremos por toda a eternidade!

Eu quero que você se imagine vestido com uma roupa luxuosa, manto branco esvoaçante, que é o símbolo da pureza e perfeição, e vamos ler o que diz em Isaías 61:1-3, que foi escrito 740-700 AC (antes de Jesus andar nesta terra).

“O espírito do Senhor Deus está sobre mim, porque o Senhor me ungiu para levar boas novas aos pobres; Ele me enviou para curar os corações quebrantados, proclamar liberdade aos cativos, e a abertura da prisão para aqueles que estão presos; proclamar o ano da graça do Senhor, e o dia da vingança do nosso Deus; para confortar todos os que choram; conceder aos que choram em Sião – dar-lhes um lindo cocar em vez de cinzas, o óleo da alegria em vez do luto, a vestimenta de louvor em vez de um espírito fraco; para que sejam chamados carvalhos de justiça, a plantação do Senhor, para que Ele seja glorificado.” ESV

Deus leva nossos trapos imundos, que é um símbolo de nossas vidas quebradas, e Ele os substitui por limpos, vestes brancas ou justiça, conforto, cura, alegria, paz e força!

Isaías 61:10 “Minha alma se alegrará muito no Senhor, minha alma exultará em meu Deus; pois Ele me vestiu com vestes de salvação, Ele me envolveu com um manto de justiça, como o noivo se adorna com uma guirlanda e como a noiva se adorna com as suas jóias.”

Bênçãos,

Lúcia

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O Espírito Santo - Meu Guia & Amigo

O Espírito Santo - Meu Guia & Amigo

blog da Luci

We receive this peace through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

If we have given our lives over to Jesus and are following Him we have the very spirit of Jesus Christ living in us! He is always present, interceding and guiding us into truth and peace, in and out of the storm.

What is His purpose? It is that you will live with peace and joy in your heart, knowing that He loves you and nothing will come between you and Him, no matter the situation. It is that you will be made righteous, that you may display the gifts of His Spirit and show Him to a dying world.

Prayer is always God’s plan to connect us to Him but now more than ever, we need to be praying earnestly for God to draw us to Himself and praying about all that’s happening around us.

We have access to the very Spirit of Christ in His Holy Spirit who will intercede for us when we don’t know what to ask for!

~ Romans 8:26-28

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[ the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

“Our prayers are not always answered by a specific action. Sometimes our prayers are answered with a shift in our attitude or in our emotions. After prayers we may find that confidence has replaced our fear, contentment has replaced our desire, hope has replaced our despair, comfort has replaced our grief, patience has replaced our frustration, joy has replaced our spirit of heaviness and love has replaced our anger. I know many of us are shaken by the events in the past few weeks so, let’s look at Isaiah and see how he coped:

When Isaiah’s life was shaken, he responded by looking up. Como resultado, he had a fresh vision of the Lord. This is the time to look up…from our knees! Let’s ask God to give us a fresh vision of Himself. Because, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear… since He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, meu Deus, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from…the deadly pestilence…You will not fear the terror of night…nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you…” Anne Graham Lotz

 

Bênçãos,

Lúcia

 

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Santidade à vida humana

Santidade à vida humana

blog da Luci

As I write this, it is the 47th anniversary of Roe vs Wade when the US Supreme Court decided abortion will be “legal” in all 50 states.

Churches all across America recognize this 3rd Sunday in January each year, as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It is a day when we as believers, thank God for the gift of life, we remember those who have died as a result of abortion, and we commit ourselves to protect the unborn.

To give you an idea of where we are, here are some statistics:

From 1973 to 2017 more than 60 million lives have been lost to abortion.

Every year, an estimated one million abortions are performed in the US.

As many as 2,500 unborn babies lose their lives in abortions every day.

4 out of 10 women who choose abortion identify as Christians and are attending church at least once a month. The sad truth is, many of us have been affected by what has been promoted as a quick fix to an inconvenience. Some of us have personal experience, some have a family member or know someone who has had an abortion.

But we have been lied to by the enemy of our souls. In John 10:10, Jesus says, The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” And the enemy has been involved in the killing of God’s children since the beginning of time.

Some of you may have hearts that are burdened with sins from your past. For some sins, it is harder for us to receive the forgiveness Christ offers than for others. Especially those sins committed against the body. Sexual sin and abortion are difficult to share and receive healing for because they touch us so deeply and there is great shame and stigma attached to them.

I am passionate about this because it has affected me personally. And I suffered so much for my choice! I was alone and afraid; I had no one in my young life that could speak truth to me. I was fed the lie that it wasn’t a baby and that I would be better off without it. For many months after the procedure, I was deeply depressed and felt empty inside over my decision; I cried every night. After being witnessed to over and over, I turned to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness because the burden was too heavy. He turned my life around and immediately forgave me. But I had to work through a lot of emotional struggles. I look back on that time and since the Lord showed me His forgiveness, over time I learned to let go of the guilt and shame I was holding on to and receive healing from the Lord through His Word and other believers.

The Lord exposed me to some compassionate and amazing Christians who were involved in the pro-life movement. And they helped me work through the fallout and heal to the point that I was able to minister to other hurting women who were alone in their secret suffering. It was a great relief to get rid of the burden of myself hate!

And the cross is open to all; the Lord receives all that ask for His forgiveness. There is healing available for grieving hearts that regret their involvement in abortion. It is not the unforgivable sin. Our Savior went to the cross for all sins.

When our hearts are surrendered to Jesus, we make better choices for ourselves and others. And there is support and protection in the body of Christ. But there are people out there who don’t know this yet. It’s up to us to share Christ love and truth with the those He brings into our lives and our church.

As we often say, the courts can make abortion illegal but only God through his church can make it unthinkable. The good news is, the abortion rate is declining but there are still so many we can reach out to with God’s love and healing!

—Luci

 

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