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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2002)
advertisement — CAL TOPS ’CANES IN LATEST P0L1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 CAL 2 MIAMI (FL) 3 OKLAHOMA 4 COLORADO 5 TENNESSEE 6 TEXAS 7 FLORIDA STATE 8 FLORIDA 9 f 17 NEBRASKA **r Can the 'Canes repeat? Can the Sooners make it two out of the last three? Who will win the Heisman? How many polygons does a Butkus Award winner get? Where is Berkeley? The answers to these (No. No. Look to Texas. Thousands. Take 1-80 west and follow the signs.) and other pressing ques tions can be found in this year's College Football Top 25 poll: The No. 3 Te 1 ust avenge the Cll mauling ce r team (13-3 beat the OklahomaSoonersto defend its 2001 all to be right in Huskerland 2002 regular st week in San Championship time the Aggie title was in 199 win their first-t The 2002 se and downs. Tin unbeaten streal for consecutive The streak star [matches in a record for mos With the Ag 5 Texas Friday season title, tin end of the Bit ble-dip. Now been met, the the next step ii “We're reas rest of the w; [Guerrieri. "W Tournament) t The Aggies Must turn off "Injuries' thin Trojans to succeed.Con trol ling the playbookis with CISC's quarterback. 19 BOISE STATE Say hello to the first' Bowl" winner. Increased rates show that thisyearta boys are on their way up. 20 AUBURN “I CAL Paid Advertisment f >^n’t Go It Alone It’s scary to talk about an abortion experi ence with others. What if they don’t understand? What if they condemn you, withdraw from you, or start acting weird whenever you’re around? These are all reasonable fears. We have them because it is important for all of us to see and feel that people around us care about us, love us, and understand us. So we often hide the things about ourselves that we fear will drive people away. We put up a defensive wall, a fake persona, to protect us from the negative judgments of others. That may be all right for short periods of time, but if that defensive wall becomes a permanent part of ourselves, it is no longer just a defense; it is a prison. It is a prison that keeps people from really know ing us. It is a prison that keeps us from fully experiencing the love and compassion of people who are willing to understand our abortion experience. To break out of this prison of fear, grief, and isolation, it is essential that you or your loved ones talk with someone who under stands what it is like. It may he especially helpful to talk with someone who has gone through the healing process themselves. Their enthusiasm can energize you by giving you a foretaste of the great joy of release that will soon be yours. This is why post abortion counseling programs and peer- support groups are so helpful. The people you will talk to have heard it all. Many, if not most, have been there themselves. This is why they have a great yearning in their hearts to help you and your loved ones. They know about your fears. But they also know about the great joy of having this secret weight lifted off your back. Know that post-abortion healing is a process. It takes time. Often you will make tremendous progress in just a short time, then plateau for a while, and then complete the process in a few more smaller steps. But the involvement of others is always essen tial to that process. For example, Kathy Williams was able to “stuff’ the grief of her abortion away for many years. The birth of her second child, however, dredged up an enormous amount of repressed grief, regret, and guilt. After one great episode of tears, she cried out to God and experi enced a great sense of mercy and forgiveness. Years later, ' Kathy decided to volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. The director asked her to participate in the cen ter’s post-abortion healing program first. Kathy felt it was unnecessary because she had already been spiritually healed, but finally she agreed. Through the class, Kathy found healing for many areas of her life where her abor tion was still causing problems. She worked to* through issues of forgiveness and isolalft Most of all, she felt a tremendous experi ence of healing by becoming involvedu * small, intimate group, made up of abort* victims like myself.” “I could be confident of their accep tance of me,” Kathy said. (I learned]trial while it takes the bkxxl ol Jesus to deli'* us from guilt, it takes the acceptance ol i ers to deliver us from shame. The acceptance of others will deliver you from shame, isolation, and loneline too. The place to begin is with post-ac tion ministries that understand exactly you have been through and knowhow^ can recover the full sense of freed 0111311 joy in your life that you desire. ‘ Don’t go it alone. There are so many who want to help you along the joun ) healing. They’ve been there before y^ And someday you yourself may help others along the same path. Help is there for all who need it only need to accept it. Please cal1 oa more of the post-abortion counseling hers on page two. Tex* AUSTIN, ' [World Series cl two years’ pro Wednesday foi [to a former vol The NCA; tant Richard ' ^ear market in j ship owned by Lowell Leber work. Instead, working on baseball team NCAk it coaches fron department's preferential 25 To those who mourn. When I was seventeen years old I underwent a second trimester, saline abortion. Although I wanted to have my baby, my parents pressured me to submit to the abortion. After many hours of labor, I gave birth to a dead baby boy. To say that this had a major impact on my life is an understatement. When I look back at where I have come from—to all the guilt, the shame, and the grief of abortion—it is with continual amazement. I now live my life with a deep joy and grat itude. Instead of doubting the mercy and goodness of God, I have come to expect it. It is said that God can bring good out of even the worst situa tions. There was a time when I would have found this hard to believe, but I know through personal experience that it is true. Through His grace, those who have had abortions can come to find peace, healing, and even joy in their lives. I know some of you are probably thinking, “but I had more than one abortion,” or “mine was probably worse than hers,” or “nobody forced me to abort,” etc. My answer to you is that the process of healing from abortion isn’t about who you are and what you 've done, it is about who God is and what He has donel The mercy of God is there for the taking—if you only dare to trust His lead on the journey of healing. His mercy will bring you a new level of life, one that is full of peace. I feel this peace because God now lives within me. I no longer feel the need to be perfect, because I know that God loves me in spite of my imperfections—and even because of them. ^ 1 no longer fear abandonment, for I have learned that He never abandon 111 even after my abortion. j anicatf- Through my healing I now have more compassion and mercy for ot2ie ^ s ' 0IT1 pas- ful not to judge, for I know where I have come from and how much 1 need c ^ ^ sion and mercy. Through my child lost to abortion, God has taught me about tru as opposed to the self-centered attachments I always wanted. dhow 10 Through the forgiveness I have received from God and others, 1 have * cal ^ ^ forgive others—and even myself. Because of the love I have found in God, afraid of suffering, because I know I am never alone in Ibis life. H<: j**‘* “1 aoJil I won t he to you. It was a difficult journey. You must face yourself h is frightening to confront the many faults we have. „ e ^the For those of us who arc post-abortive, often the very things we have to a same tears that caused us to choose abortion in the first place. The paradox lS ^ ^ these things—pride, self-love, fear of abandonment, etc.—is what will set us t2iem - • • dwith No matter how hard the journey, it is never as difficult as what you are li now. .jj ^gjn So 1 invite you to begin your journey toward healing, and 1 pray y oU by reaching out to those who can help you. . Remember that you are not alone in your feelings. There are reasons o 1 ^^ our There is no room for “politics” or controversy in post-abortion healing, children. We must be allowed to grieve for them. . n Through healing you will become a better person in spite of your abo through His mercy and love, is waiting for you. I will be praying for you, i- r ^ The "Officially L exclusive propen Club of New Yot developed by Ret afteraborti on.org