Unto Us a Child is Born

Unto Us a Child is Born

 

This time of the year is a reminder of so many things like childhood dreams, believing in santa, family get togethers, lots of food and what we all wait for...gifts!  However, the greatest gift of all was the birth of Jesus.  With all of the hustle and bustle we tend to overlook the real reason for the season.  Unto us a child is born and His name is Jesus.  December 25th is the day that God chose to allow His Son to be birthed in a dirty manger in a barn by a very young unwed mother, Mary.  I am sure she was the "talk of the town" as a very young, unwed pregnant girl and she was a virgin.  However, probably only she knew that fact.  Joseph, was engaged to marry her, so he could have left her thinking that she had lost her virginity to someone else because he knew that he had not had sex with her.  However, God spoke to Joseph and Joseph chose to believe and trust God!  Wow, how difficult that must have been.  I can relate to Mary in a few ways.  I also found myself pregnant, unwed and young.  The main difference is that I had chose to have sex.  I did not tell the father of my baby that I was pregnant and hurried to have a "legal" abortion before anyone found out.  I believed the lie that my unborn baby that was developing inside of my womb was just a "blob of tissue".   Unlike Mary and Joseph, I did not choose to believe and trust God that it would all be fine.  I took matters into my own hands and did it "my way".  I walked out of that abortion facility in physical, emotional and spiritual pain.  My heart felt like it had been torn out of my body like my unborn baby.  I cried and cried.  I never imagined that I would feel that way.  I thought that I would just go in like a simple procedure and then I would be back to my pre-pregnancy self.  I was not the same person after my abortion.  I was filled with pain, anger, rage, distrust, guilt, shame and sadness beyond explanation. I decided to drink alcohol and take drugs to make the pain go away.  I continued down that terrible path for many years.  I would have rather die than live in the pain and shame.  By this time, I had confided in a few friends and then the word spread throughout my small hometown to only compound the consequences of my "choice".  The father of the baby found out and he was very upset as he could not believe that I had taken the life of his child without him even having a chance to say anything about it.  I realized that I had made a very selfish decision but I couldn't go back and change it.  It was too late!!  I had always loved babies and now I truly believed that I would not be able to have children as a punishment for what I had done to the child that God had given me.  However, I thank God daily that I was able to conceive years later.  My first born son was born on December 25th...yes the same day as baby Jesus was born.  My daughter was born 14 months later.  My heart hurts for so many who can never have children after abortion and I pray for them daily.  God led me through an abortion recovery Bible study a few years after my children were born.  Once I was healed, I knew that God wanted me to speak out to the world to let them know the pain and reality of abortion and also that there is help, hope and healing for anyone who has had an abortion or been through an abortion experience, including men.  I started a 501c3 organization named Tears to Treasures to do what God has called me to do.  If you have had one (1) or more abortions, paid, brought, encouraged, coerced someone to have an abortion and feel the guilt, shame and pain, please find an abortion recovery group near you and attend as soon as possible.  You do not have to live the rest of your life holding all of those emotions inside.  God can't heal what you won't allow Him to deal with.  So, please bring your abortion experiences to God and let Him heal you so that you will no longer be held in bondage from the chains of abortion.  A very important part of my healing was naming my unborn baby because he was not an "it".  I had dreams for years of a boy that looked like me and his father and I never realized why I had them until my healing.  I do believe that God speaks in dreams and those were visions of my aborted son.  I named him Joshua David.  I know that I will meet him in Heaven one day.  So, as we approach the holidays...give yourself or someone else the gift of healing.  Every contact is strictly confidential and private. 
I can help you find a group in your area.  Please feel free to email me at tearstotreasures@gmail.com and I personally respond to each one.  Praying that you each have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!    

Living HOPE,

 

Michelle Durand

Founder/Executive Director

Tears to Treasures

HOPE!

I realize that the issues of molestation, rape and abortion are difficult ones.  It was not my idea to write about, speak about and help girls and women deal with these painful issues!!  It was completely God's idea and as a child of God, I try to always obey His words.  I have been through very difficult, painful experiences in my own life.  I found myself pregnant at the age of 14, because I could not say "No" to myself and chose to have sex.  I put my boyfriend's feelings before my own.  I did not want to disappoint him and I had a FEAR that he would leave me if I did not have sex with him.  We were both very young and did not even understand true love in a mature way.  I chose to have an abortion even though in my heart I really didn't want it, but I didn't want to say "No" to myself again and make myself carry the baby to term!  I was determined that abortion would make my problem go away.  It sure did make my baby go away.  But, ultimately I traded my unborn baby for pain, loss, guilt, shame, condemnation!!!  I hated myself for years for what I chose to do.  I was so angry with God and the world.  I did not want to go back to church and I just lashed out at anyone that I could.  Hurting people hurt others!  You can relate if you have ever seen a hurt animal on the side of the road that has been hit by a car, it runs off to hide from the world and if you go and try to touch it to help it, it will bite you!!  People can reach out to help you from your hurts and wounds, but you will scare them away or push them away.  You do not want to talk about "that".  I know, I have been there.  The good news and HOPE is that you should not and do not need to stay hurting, alone, suffering until you die.  God died on the cross for this reason!  He took the pain and shame so you don't have to.  Please think about this and ask God for yourself if He wants to heal you!  If you are still unsure, I can confirm as well as many others who will comment to this post.  He does want to heal you!  He has a HOPE and a FUTURE for you.  Please read Jeremiah 29:11.
Praying for you!!!
Michelle Durand

Deep, Dark, Shameful Secrets...need to be LET OUT!

MOLEST

1. to bother, interfere with, or annoy.

2.to make indecent sexual advances to.

3.to assault sexually.

MOLESTATION

1. harass, harry, trouble, plague, hector, torment.

To many who read these words, their definition is PAIN and USED.

I have been amazed for over ten (10) years how many young girls and boys have been molested. I have been placed in a position in my life which affords me the opportunity for young and older women to share their deepest, darkest, hidden, shameful, painful secrets. The first that I will address is molestation. The second will be rape. The third will be abortion. They are very commonly linked together in many ways. However, because of the emotional trauma and pain, we are not able to untangle our emotions long enough to realize the root or core problem. It reminds me of a fragile necklace that is in one round ball. I lose patience in trying to untangle the mess and knot. As children and even adults, we lose control of our emotions if we try to sit and remember the incident that led us to this mess in our lives. We feel like if we cry...we may never stop. We can't cry because we were told that we "better stop that crying" or else. We don't want to "go back and relive those moments" because of fear of pain again. So, we keep stuffing and pushing aside our TRUE inmost feelings. We definitely do NOT trust anyone. Most of the time, the molester was someone whom we should have been able to trust. I have heard and read countless different circumstances and situations. However, the common ground and fact here is that molestation is REAL and it HURTS forever UNTIL we find out how to HEAL!! The Bible is true and clear that satan is a LIAR! He is always trying to steal, kill and destroy life. When a child is molested, their innocence is stolen and they are a victim of other's sins (satan's work). The child becomes a teen and feels used, unworthy, unloved, unprotected, defiled, dirty because of what was done to them. These are NOT facts, they are feelings! If they continue to make decision based on these feelings, they will begin having sex at a young age because they do not feel worthy of respect from men. They also do not trust men. They feel betrayed. These are facts that I have heard and read many times. You may or may not feel exactly like this. It would take a long time for me to type all of the different feelings. However, I encourage you to start typing what you went through, experienced and maybe still hurting from. It begins the healing process. You can do so under a pretend name to protect your privacy. I will try to write daily as I have LOTS to get out of my heart to help others heal. SO, please encourage me to write by posting replies and questions and visit our website www.tearstotreasures.com Praying for you!!!!

January 10, 2010

A new year, a NEW beginning! I am so excited to finally start a healing group for women and men who have experienced abortion(s). I need as many prayer partners as possible as we begin this journey to healing. Please join me in the adventure of a lifetime. God truly turns tears to treasures! I know because He did this for me from 1995-1999. I am a women set free indeed from the bondage of a past abortion that I was ashamed of and hide for so many years dip down in the darkness of my heart (the pit). Satan tormented me day and night as long as I kept it "secret". I finally allowed God to use His word to heal my heart from the pain and shame that I hid for so many years. In 1999, God clearly let me know that He wanted me to "tell everyone what He did for me because He wants to heal them". I had know idea how I was going to do this. But I was not going to tell Him "No" after ALL He had just done in my life and heart in the past 4 years. Please join me tomorrow as I continue sharing my story of God turning my tears to treasures!!! Living Hope, Michelle