Some people may wonder why Good Counsel Homes http://www.goodcounselhomes.org/ has Lumina, a
post abortive program that refers those suffering from a past abortion to the
help they need in order to heal. After all, Good Counsel houses homeless
pregnant women who are seeking help in having their unborn children.
As true as this is, a number of the women have also
experienced abortion, and while many may not venture to deal with the pain that
it has caused in their lives, there are those who do want to look, and there
are those whose current emotions and actions are impacted by their past
abortions.
Lumina also does trainings for clergy, staff, professional
therapists and lay people to educate about post abortion. The importance of the
Good Counsel staff having a knowledge of post abortion stress is invaluable. In
fact it has been key in turning abortion minded women around.
Post abortion trauma manifests itself in many different ways.
Understanding the dynamics helps the staff minister to the moms in ways they
may not otherwise do by making them aware of why there may be certain
behaviors.
Abortion makes women much more vulnerable to repeat abortions,
much more likely to feel they are not deserving of a child, and prone to host
of other dynamics including feeling of being “worthless”, “unforgivable”, and “abandoned”. We
cannot change the past but we can help to mold the future.
We can care for each individual soul, not only because we
want them to give life to their unborn children, but because we manifest
Christ’s love them and see their innate value and dignity as children of God,
something too many in their lives have not done because of their own wounds.
Post abortion may be just one of many issues these women are
dealing with, but it is an important one. Through the caring staff of Good
Counsel, these women can be loved into the arms of Him who is Love, where they
will learn their worth and gain the
courage and knowledge to change their lives.
of course, Luminas work goes far beyond Good Counsel as we reach out to all those suffering from a past abortion in the hope of getting them the help they need to heal.
Please keep Good Counsel and Lumina in your prayers as we strive to continue to be instruments of Gods mercy to others, both before and after abortion