Hello, my name is Bethene. I am married with five living children, two are biological and three are bonus from my husband.
In 1979 I was married to someone who was physically and mentally abusive. He tried very hard to keep me from my family and controlled everything I did. It was hard sometimes to breathe and function as a viable adult. There was a time when we separated, and I filed for divorce. Through a series of events, I became pregnant by another man. I felt broken in my spirit, body, and soul. I reconciled with my husband because we had two children together. I did tell him I was pregnant, and he said we would work through it. He decided that I had to abort my baby because it did not belong to him. I struggled but the very real fear of possibly losing my two children to him and never seeing them again made me concede. I did the exact thing I swore I would never do.
I was about 23 at that time. I remember walking is shame afraid to even talk about abortion for fear of what people would think and judge me on what I did. I lost my self-respect which was already low and felt like there was no way I could ever be free from my choice or the shame and guilt. I projected anger at everyone around me and built a brick box around my heart that was supposed to protect me from being hurt again. That didn’t work. For a very long time, I suffered from shame, guilt, anger, and pain.
Sometime in 2017, I went to a Women’s Conference at Heritage Church and heard Pastor Jess share and give the most amazing testimony of healing and restoration. My heart stopped; I did not know there was healing for someone like me. It took me about two and a half years to get brave enough to face my pain; but when I did God set me completely free of the pain, anger, and trust issues and put me on a path to help others know how valuable they are.
I was able to share with my granddaughter who was considering abortion for her pregnancy. After sharing with her and putting her in touch with Life Options she chose life for her child. I am so thankful and blessed that God chose me to help others.