A picture of comfort

Today I received news that a friend's great grand baby had died inutero.  

She asked me to keep the family in my prayers, as they are, of course, devastated.

Weeping with sorrow, I typed out my prayer:

that they would be comforted in knowing 

their baby is sitting on Jesus' lap, waiting for them in heaven.

For the record:

It is NOT my intention by this post to make their tragedy about ME!

I simply desire to offer comfort to anyone who's lost a child

-for whatever reason- 

by means of the comfort the Lord gave me a long time ago.

Here is my story.

38 years ago, my then-boyfriend [now Dear Husband] and I 

aborted our first child.

We married 6 years later and 2 years after that,

the Lord blessed us with the first of our 3 children.

Just realized that might be better stated like this:

"...the second of our four children."

Slowly, we began to realize, as we never had before, 

the gravity of our decision to abort our first child.

We mourned that baby for 25 years.

Yes, we asked the Lord to forgive us 

and in our heads, we knew He did.

During that time the Lord gave me the mental picture of

Him holding our baby on His lap,

safe and happy, with his/her Savior,

waiting to meet us in heaven.

But we never received that comfort in our hearts 

nor had we lived in the freedom of forgiveness.

Several times over the years we'd shared about our abortion 

with close friends and with various Bible study groups, 

but our sorrow lingered. 

About 6 years ago, on Sanctity of Life Sunday, 

my pastor asked me to share our abortion experience at 3 worship services.  

As a result of that testimony, God brought good out of a bad decision we'd made 

by drawing other hurting hearts to Himself.

What was the result of sharing our story for me?

It was no longer about me.

It was about God

and His grace and forgiveness to me;

His patience and faithfulness in drawing me close to His heart all those years

until I received it.

Today I pray that whoever reads this and needs it, 

 will receive the same comfort the Lord continues to give me:

the knowledge that their baby is loved with His everlasting love, 

is secure in His everlasting arms,

and is sitting in Jesus' lap,

waiting to meet them in heaven.

The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27

Love,

Linking with
Ann Voskamp @ A Holy Experience for
"Multitudes on Monday"
<a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff162/annvoskamp/multitudesonmondaysbutton2-1.jpg" ></a>
[Can someone please teach me how to copy and paste the button code so that the graphic also shows?!?]
If you'd like to join us for this weekly meme, go to her site above, and link up.
I've been following Ann's blog for a couple of months now and I must say that every time I read it, I am blessed by the depth of her posts.  I look forward to checking out the other participants' links over the next several days.
Ann also hosts Walk with Him Wednesdays.
Tough Cookie Mommy for

What Will My Legacy Be?

As I shared here, there's a lot of junk in my past that I'm not proud of.

But when I walk in the grace of God's forgiveness

I'm free to dream about wonderful things:

like the fact that I will be a Grandma for the first time

around Mother's Day next year.

And I've begun to wonder

what kind of legacy will I leave for my children?

And now, my grandbaby?

The Holy Spirit reminds me that He is still at work in me,

that I am His beloved work-in-progress.

And He gives me this word of encouragement:

"Remember the faith of Timothy's mother and grandmother.

You, Karen, have that faith in Me.

Fan it to flame by spending time with Me."

I'm weak Lord!

He continues patiently,

"I did not give you a spirit of timidity, 

but a spirit of power,

of love

and of self-discipline."

[2 Timothy 1:5-7]

I want to be that kind of woman!

I want it to be said of me,

"She had faith in the Lord no matter what." 

Nichole Nordeman's lyrics brought these thoughts to mind today:

I wanna leave a legacy.

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love? 

Did I point to You

enough to make a mark on things? 

Wanna leave an offering.

Child of mercy and grace 

who blessed Your name unapologetically

  and leave that kind of legacy.

Just wanna hear, "Good and faithful servant!"

[the video is at the end of the post]

Thank You, Jesus, that You continue to draw me to Yourself.

Give me grace to grow in my faith today.

Grace and peace to you, friends!

Love, Karen

Linking up with Iris & friends @ Thankful Thursday.

Dear Past Me-Day #4 of Thanksgiving

Dear Past Me,

God has forgiven you, Karen, 

for all your selfishness.

And all the times you yelled at your husband and kids.

And the lies you've told.

And for manipulating.
And for not trusting Him.

And for your gluttony.

And for the times you chose strife over peace.

And for your pride.

And for your smart-aleck mouth.

And for not being thankful for your home.

And even for hating your kitchen, especially the sink.
And for worrying.

And for not being an encourager.

And for your laziness.

And for not showing grace to others.

And for taking His grace for granted.

And for not being a good Christian witness.

And for not counting your blessings.

And for not honoring your parents.

And for not cherishing your husband's and childrens' love.

And for coveting, lusting, and gossiping.

And for not praying without ceasing.

And for living in the prison of fear.

And for that unspeakable act in your 20's.

And for believing the world's lies,

instead of His truth.

On the basis of His grace to me,

I forgive me, too.

Now go, Karen, and live passionately in that grace.
I am He who blots out your transgressions,
for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
Isaiah 43:25

Who is a God like You, Who pardons sin...
You do not stay angry forever 
but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
You will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:19


...as far as the east is from the west, 
so far has He removed our 
transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12

blessings to all, love, karen