Showing God's Love to Women With Unplanned Pregnancies

Know everything is planned, it may be by the mom that every baby is planning a baby is not a baby is a miracle that is truly a pro-life attitude and you'll hear more from Marcus Amy Ford on today's addition of focus on the thanks for joining us your hostess focus president Dr. Jim Daly and I'm John John.

When you consider the fact that baby is created in the image of God. It's easy to see him.

His point every baby is a miracle. And that makes it all the more important for each one of us to get involved in the pro-life movement that you might not have time to volunteer at your local pregnancy center or attend the March for life in Washington DC.

Can you give an encouraging word to a pregnant girl, can you be a friend. That's the challenge that Amy has for us today. Amy Ford is the cofounder and president of embrace grace which provides curriculum and support to church based ministries serving young women with unplanned pregnancies. What a place to show up and you'll hear how Amy got involved in the pro-life movement as she begins her story and here now is Amy Ford speaking at our all staff chapel gathering on today's Focus on the Family about me, my story super short version because I've actually been on the broadcast. A couple times that you may have heard it already, but this super short version is that I pregnancy when I was 19 I was terrified to tell my you know the enemy lies to you and tells you like the worst case, an area that can possibly happen, and I believed all of it is in the home last. You know my parents are going to hate me all of the things and so we mean I baby daddy we scheduled the abortion appointment and I went there to have it done and I ended up hyperventilating and passing out in the abortion ram and when I came to the nurses were fading each try to give me a drink of water and he said you're too emotionally distraught to make this decision today. You can come back another day. But today you're not getting abortion so went back out into the waiting room until my baby daddy that were still pregnant. He could see my face is swollen from crying so much and we just decided that moment just figured out if we are going to be homeless. We are in all of these terrible thing with her life was over. Dreams were over all of that. If that's can happen. At least we have each other and so we ended up choosing life.

We told her parents. It wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. They deftly were disappointed in the timing by they were supported and but we simply decided to get married and we asked the man led my husband to the Lord years before. We asked him if he would marry and he said no I can't marry you because you said and so I can't bless this marriage and we are such horrible people beginning to get married right you know and believe finding someone else would marry, it was such a beautiful wedding but it felt like a scarlet letter felt like people were watching thinking all of the crazy thoughts that you have liquid people thinking and it was just that day that I felt so much shame about our situation. So then we try to go to church but it's like the elephant in the room and people don't know whether to say congratulations or I'm sorry they didn't say anything you feel alone in a crowd of people, and everyone knew that I was pregnant, but no one really was it so I knew that they were talking to each other about if anyone is really talking to me.

Looking back, I don't think it was because they were necessarily it was more that they just didn't know what to say so we didn't really like the way it made us feel. We went to church so just going for really long time and we ended up having a son and he's so amazing is just actually works in the pro-life movement.

Now he graduated from Oral Roberts University.

He just got married last year and is so crazy to think that it was so close that he wasn't. But he's here and I love to you that he looks at it that he is.

I told him when he was 13. I told him a story now super nervous and had all my friends praying because I didn't want him to take it as rejection. I had my first book coming out now and at first he you know he's a typical 13-year-old is make you feel and he's like as a boy.

Now, but over the next few months.

He did struggle a little bit because enemies are lying to him like he wants us to be here were never wanted to let the enemy was lying to him and it didn't one day about six months later came to us and he said I heard from God. He said that I was in overcome her before I was ever even Satan had a plea to take me out here is my life to change the world proud and so I love that he's passionate about life and one thing that's cool to you is that pastor would have married. He actually a couple years later called my husband out of the blue and he asked for forgiveness and he said that it was his worst mistake in pastoring history.

The ever meet. Please forgive me for what I did. He said I religious heart to fear. See if there is a heart religious. So sorry we forget me and my husband, who adores this set. I forgive you.

And there still to this day such great friends. You know I love that God turns everything for good for those that love him and he did that with my story and I really think back about what looked like I had went to church every single week relationship with the board very much but I did go to church every single week with my family look like if I had found out I was pregnant. Totally terrified and I had thought away. I could go to the church and asked for prayer and wisdom and guidance and support.

I told what to do, but actually was the last place I wanted to go to and so we started an organization called embrace grace because we want the church to be one of the first places a girl runs to his stead. At the last because of shame and guilt, and we believe that the church can be the hope of the world and the situation that we can be the hands and feet. We say pro-life is a stance, but prone love is an action and it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance.

It's his goodness that draws us to his side and you know we are the church. Right-click the church buildings everywhere, but we are the church and we represent Jesus everywhere that we God's bringing his people all the time and I've seen too many did this for my own life that sometimes when he wants to live his daughter or son back to him and back to his heart. He might just give them the baby to do it and he might just give them the sweetest face that they've ever laid eyes on so that they can maybe get tedious to tiniest glimpse of how much God must love and I've seen girls that were like I was about to kill myself. I was on drugs. I whip my lot I thought my life was over. Pregnant and then things changed. God knows what he's doing. Every baby is planned, it may be unplanned by the mom, but every baby is planned in a baby is not sin. A baby is a miracle.

No matter how I got but God is bringing his people all the time of the world is our mission field we have to be watching and looking, I can't tell you how many women I have met that are pregnant and single and I will say I have a radar for I'm looking for I can. I can tell, even if they're not very far along I can tell by the way up in the belly I have gotten in trouble and other pregnant but they weren't not extremely awkward. But I've learned through trial and error how to do this and had asked the right questions to make it totally worked, but because I had the radar for it everywhere everywhere and they're asking do you see when you think about the first single mom in the Bible, Hagar should she referred to God who sees the first single mom in the Bible and I can't tell you how many single moms that I need whether they've had their baby yet. Rather, expecting that there asking God. Do you see me and then her son Ishmael. His name mean God hears the first child of a single mom.

His name means God hears. But we are his people. We are the miracle we can be there miracle.

But we can't just go coaster live clock and clock out to our jobs here and then go home. The world is our mission field everywhere we go is an opportunity to show the love of Jesus everywhere we go. One time when I met a girl who had told me that how she had heard about embrace grace.

She said that she had found out she was pregnant. Totally terrified. She was a single child and she had a dad that she didn't have a mom and she told her that she was pregnant.

He was so furious with her. He said you can have an abortion or you can do adoption.

We are not having this baby are to be a terrible mom and baby that was like, already in jail totally like crazy situation but she just struggled 200 abortion clinic saw people standing outside the clinic and kept on driving.

She met with an adoptive family, but it just something. What didn't feel right about it and so she didn't. She said no to that she worked at UPS store and she goes into work and right before she was walking in their shift. She was like I can you bring me someone that has a box that has the word church on the label and that way I'll know that there is a person to talk to because I literally have no one to talk to.

I don't know what to do. So she goes and she works her shift in five minutes or for foreclosing here comes a guy with a box that has the word church in the label and she's like you work at a church and he's like now I have a company that makes websites for churches to pay any could see the disappointment in her face and his leg like go to church as you do and how is it she just let it all out crying. My dad will be a horrible mom.

I don't know what to do and just poured her heart out to this guy I know this guy is the data for boys and he was just like I am just ridership and he was like I he just said some like encouraging words.

He didn't even really know what he's like. I think it probably has something for you to get your information on how my wife call you okay and she got plugged into an embrace grace. And she was in my group and it was that was about the third class so she was the new girl because we Artie started a couple weeks before she showed up but I'll never forget what she said and has stuck with me my entire life.

Since this happened. She said you know my dad seems to be a horrible mom but that guy at the UPS store said he thought I would be used to telling on the process and enter embrace pay support group and I just was thinking. She just a perfect stranger that she most likely would never meet again said something that he just he good beginning. I think will be great. Mom was literally all she had to hold onto someone believes he our words have life and death and the power of her time in God's bringing his people all the time job sonics here okay well we have sonic and at sonic we had a lot of embrace grace. Girls work at sonic and I didn't know this but apparently are supposed to sonic and I didn't apparently at sonic you can swipe your card now. But you can't don't have a tip line. So if you're going to tip you have cash and hardly ever have passions I can hardly ever got live in Texas.

It was superhot and was happy hour and get the slushy snap off at all for kids in my car and we were going to sonic and I thought – and so I you know, press the button placed the order and digging in my purse realize had no captions like no this is not good so I swiped my card and then when the girl came out. I said I am so sorry I thought I cash to tip you don't have a tip by a go to the ATM machine a go get some cash and I'll bring it back for you. You have to do you want to so I go and I come back and she's like my name Zoe said oh I love that name.

I said my forests I got for kids. My fourth is a baby and before I knew he was a boy my girl name.

I had picked out was silly and did you know that your name means, but it's not just like just survival kind of life like just lifelike. It's like in the realm of life like it's the John 1010 the John 316 heaven on earth. Life did you she's no she's likely just to have a baby and I said well you know he's about wanting to have a big baby. She simple. I just found out I'm pregnant me. My boyfriend are super nervous.

Do you have any advice for me, this is the perfect set up by how amazing is a site I got are connected to the pregnancy center. I got are connected to an embrace grace group.

I was at her wedding. I was at her birth sheet of having a boy.

She got tons my boys hand-me-downs. It was so close that I missed out on such a special and amazing relationship because sci-fi would've treated her like she was a robot or just another person that's doing a transaction for me. She was a real person in praying and asking God to bring me someone to give me some advice on what to do. It all started by asking her name that was it. He's bringing his people all the time. It's just sometimes it might get too busy to do it. I met a pastor once in Dallas that has set his daughter had an unclean pregnancy and she had really rebelled and gone away, and then she ended up finding out she's pregnant that maybe I was in jail already and she said that, I'm sorry. Please come back home and I'm I've I just need your support, your help as you came back home, he told the congregation about her being pregnant and they were pretty supportive, but whenever she had a little girl and she said after she had a little girl. She said that I want to dedicate my baby at the next dedication service in the way this church because it is the will have a family that stands you know the have like five families all at the front and mildew.

One family at a time and I'll say with. If your partner is connected with this family. Will you please stand and working a prayer for this baby in the 90s. The next family.

The next family. The next family will then get to this daughter and her little girl and he said, is there anyone here in this church that represents this woman and this child something amazing happened. The whole church to that. This is what the church looks like. Whether working here in this building working on.

We are out getting groceries. We are the church.

How much it must have meant to her to see the body of Christ family a spiritual family that stood up and said we are in this with you, it made all the difference in the world. There is a girl one time that did embrace grace name is Britney and she wanted to come to embrace grace is called me and said hey I like this group because I went get the free baby shower but just so you know I'm Wiccan and I believe in witchcraft as I can be a problem coming to your church and is relatively let's just and she did have a car so I would pick her up and take her and she was so smart, like she, her peers had given her all the books of religion. When she was young and they had said you believe what you want to believe in or something about witchcraft that she connected with something that nature. The trees and I don't really it was the truth of his false truth, so she would come every single week and we had such great dialogue on the way there she got to hear the gospel planting seeds planting seeds planting seeds and I just knew in my heart I knew it there was to be a salvation experience like I believe I was standing on it. I was so pumped about it was going to happen and one day when I was taking her and she never missed a week ever when it when I was taking her, she said the way it makes me feel when I come to this group. You know it's happening. We know that the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit cooperating with the Holy Spirit and install. We did the whole semester. The whole thing. Embrace grace is 12 weeks long to get a baby shower to get loved to have a princes day all the stuff she does the whole thing. She never surrenders her life to the Lord and I remember going back home and send it to her like internally between not like what you missed one class what happened, what was the breakdown. Why didn't she surrender like to use. I really thought she was gonna do it and I heard the Lord say your planting seeds.

Do you think that a girl that is Wiccan would have ever step foot in a church if you had created a safe place for her to be there so let my people keep planting the seeds interest was like okay so I lost track with their phone number change for a while year later she calls me totally out of the blue, freaking out and she said Amy you'll never believe this bye I pulled out my embrace Gray's curriculum from the year before reading again and I've been thinking maybe God's really talk to me like I think something and that something would happen like you know she was the manager of a restaurant/gas station and she said she went in praying before she went into work and she was like, if you hear me if your real I just think you really know your real safety to do something is like a little bit more advanced way that I just know you know I know I don't have any so she goes into work and as she's working this conceptual counter and she remembers she said he was seemed very nervous and he came up to her and he said no.

This is gonna sound really crazy by. I really felt like the Lord wanted you know that he loves you and he sees you, all he wants is your heart, and she was so she go straight home and she gets her embrace Gray's curriculum from the year before and she puts the TR on her head because that's something it's all about you being a daughter of the king.

She wanted to put this on. She goes into the bathroom and looked in the mirror because she said I wanted to be a moment it was seared in my memory that this is the day that I surrendered my life to the Lord. This is it is so she prayed a salvation prayer and she surrendered her life to Jesus and I was the first person she called and I was so excited so freaking out and after I got off the phone I was thanking God and so happy in the Lord reminded me of two things.

One she liked the way it made her feel when she came to church. It's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. It was his love that through her to. He reminded me of the like.

How amazing he cooperating with the Holy Spirit and he did it nervously came up to the counter and was obedient to the Holy Spirit, prompting, and said something to her that he has no idea that she went home and surrendered her life to Jesus.

I walked away with like a dork by everything she went straight home and surrendered to Jesus and I can just imagine someday in heaven.

Jesus like that go that I told you to go talk to. Here she is and here's her kids and her green kids and her great kids the legacy and it wasn't just him. It was the body of Christ working together planting seeds that finally led to her salvation.

And now more than ever. The world is looking for a Savior, whether they know it or not. They are looking for a Savior, Savior, means rescuer.

They are looking for rescuer and what you guys are doing is impacting the world. All of us working together we can be the change we want to see in the world. I know sometimes we feel like we have to wait for this magical moment where light shines down from heaven and you're at the grocery store and the person in front of you. Am I supposed to pay for that single moms, groceries, and you're not really sure. But like the light isn't necessarily shining down on you and you're not hearing an audible voice from the board will something like maybe it's just me just tell you the devil okay devils I tell you papers in my Scriptures is that you either because you're probably not that nice word the Lord is telling you to do that when a prayer for you guys enclosing God, thank you so much for this powerful team that allows you to work in and through them give us opportunities to talk to single and pregnant women give us opportunities to talk to people that are desperate for the hope of you, we are here we have our eyes open. We have our ears open. We have our hands open.

We are open to however you want to use the sky.

We know that were not here on earth because just to clock in and clock out survive every day God.

We are on earth to thrive and we know that it's just a vapor life is just a vapor.

It's all about you. That's why we're here. It's all about you.

We went and made heaven crowded helplessly seeds show us how to do it is we are willing, we want to be obedient to your word and we know that the way that you receive love is through our obedience and we want to cooperate to partner with you to bring the home to the world so Amy Ford concluded her message. Focus on the Family staff just a few months ago.

Joe what I love about Amy is that she doesn't just talk the talk. She is walking the walk. She's out there beating women who need help with their unplanned pregnancies. Her ministry embrace. Grace started as a small group at her church and has grown to over 650 support groups, thousands of women have chosen life for their babies and found ongoing help as young mothers through embrace grace and as we discussed ways to get involved in the pro-life movement.

There's one idea you can help start and embrace Gray's outreach at your church would have a link for you to get started in the show notes. That's a great idea John. Another way to get involved is through Focus on the Family's optional ultrasound program, which is save the lives of almost half a million babies through the years, we've seen that 54% of abortion minded women who have counseling and ultrasound will choose life. That's the power of that visual image. If you haven't donated to optional ultrasound. Let me encourage you to do so today.

Your support helps us supply pregnancy resource centers with equipment and training to provide free ultrasounds to mothers considering abortion every $60 that you give will help save one baby from abortion. And right now special friends of the ministry who believe in life are offering to match your gift dollar for dollar.

Your $60 donation will be doubled $220 saving two babies and when you give a gift of any amount today will send you a copy of Amy Ford's book called help her be brave discover your place in the pro-life movement. It will give you more practical ideas on how to get involved in protecting the lives of pre-born children and helping those young mothers as well get in touch with us today.

You can do that when you call 800 K in the word family or follow the link in the episode notes to donate to the work of Focus on the Family and request your book while you're in line with this, be sure to follow the link to see life 2022. It's a 12 week digital journey celebrating all aspects of the pro-life movement, including a live event on June 14 right here on our campus next time you hear from Amber Leah. She shares encouragement from her own personal journey of breaking the chains of food addiction and embracing healthier God honoring eating habits in our enemies that try to tell us that it's too hard that you can't have victory tried to many times before. It's always been a be the same and that is not the God that we know God says to us that we are a new creation on behalf of Jim Daly of the entire team. Thanks for joining us today for this Focus on the Family project. If you would please we were living in your podcast up help others discover the great content we have.

You're sure about this episode with the on John Fuller inviting you back next time.

As we once more help you thrive in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision on abortion are you ready for what comes next and how should we respond as emotions run as Christians we need to be ready. Focus on the Family can help you prepare. Join us every Monday to hear inspiring stories from people their own pro-life moments and experience God's love to learn more, go focusonthefamily.com/seizure moment focusonthefamily.com/seizure moment