Participants:
Series Code: LAC
Program Code: LAC180010A
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00:01 The Bible says,
00:02 "The Lord will give you beauty from ashes." 00:06 We wondered about this statement. 00:08 How is God gonna turn something beautiful 00:10 when our 19-year-old daughter became pregnant? 00:13 Join us on Life After Choice 00:16 and see the amazing journey 00:17 that God took us through this difficult time. 00:36 Welcome to Life After Choice. 00:38 This is Pastor Todd Parker. 00:39 And I'm Gina Parker. 00:41 And we're dealing with a 19-year-old daughter 00:43 that's unwed and pregnant. 00:45 And what do we do with this situation? 00:48 I'd lived in Idaho for many years 00:50 and I became a pastor. 00:52 And when we found out, 00:54 and we were living in Mississippi, 00:55 that she was pregnant, it was devastating. 00:58 But in our life, we moved forward, right? 01:02 And in the fact that we moved forward, 01:04 it's been quite a journey. 01:06 But I want you to talk about the young lady 01:10 and the other lady that you met. 01:12 Well, I was at the ministerial meetings, 01:15 I believe, in Austin, Texas. 01:16 And it was just very interesting how that... 01:19 I'm the type of person, I like to look at the booths. 01:21 There were a lot of booths. 01:22 And I think there was like maybe 300 booths there. 01:25 And walking around 01:26 and going from booth to booth to booth 01:28 and I found this lady 01:29 and I saw her banner on her booth, 01:31 and it said something about abortion and stuff, 01:34 and I started talking to her. 01:36 And she just started opening up 01:38 about what this whole thing was. 01:40 And I told her about our situation, 01:41 how it just affected us deeply, and how it hurt so hard, 01:46 but, you know, God is what's good. 01:48 And so he quickly called us and he said, 01:55 "Gina, I want you to come. 01:56 I want you to meet these ladies. 01:58 And they've got a really powerful testimony." 02:01 Our daughter Jessica, she was with us. 02:04 And we were glad that we brought her 02:06 because we went and we met a young lady 02:09 by the name of Antoinette Doug and Diana. 02:13 And they were such a blessing to me and to my daughter. 02:18 And as Antoinette was talking and telling us her story, 02:24 I was sitting there thinking it's gonna be okay 02:28 because as I said before, 02:30 you know, I grew up 02:32 with having to live the dos and the don'ts 02:35 and to walk the tight line. 02:37 And here was a situation that was in my mind a don't. 02:42 I had a daughter, a single daughter, 02:46 who was pregnant, 02:47 and that's not the way life is supposed to be. 02:49 Life is supposed to be, 02:51 you get married, you have kids, you have grandkids. 02:54 That's the way life's supposed to be. 02:56 But that's not reality. 02:57 Life doesn't always turn out that way. 03:00 And that was our situation. 03:03 And as Antoinette was talking, 03:05 in my mind I was getting what I needed, 03:08 peace and joy for the first time. 03:12 And I was realizing that I was going to be a grandma 03:18 and that my daughter was going to be a Mom. 03:22 And as I was watching her talk, 03:25 my mind started wandering and I thought, 03:28 "You know what, this little baby inside 03:31 can be this young lady and can be this ministry 03:36 and can be a light for God." 03:39 And so all the negativeness, 03:40 all the what would people say, 03:42 what would people think, I finally realized. 03:45 But what is God going to say, what is God going to think, 03:48 what has God got planned for this unborn baby. 03:52 And my world changed. 03:54 And I was watching my daughter 03:56 who I know that she was going through a lot in her life. 04:00 She was struggling 04:01 with the whole idea of being a single mom, 04:04 how is she gonna do it, 04:05 again, what will people think. 04:08 But as Antoinette was talking, 04:11 I could see peace coming over her face. 04:14 And I knew right then and there she was gonna be okay, 04:17 and that she was gonna make it, 04:19 and that God was gonna take care of her, 04:23 and that God was gonna be with her. 04:27 And so I praise God for that. 04:30 And because of that, we moved forward. 04:34 You know, I think too it helped us understand... 04:37 Antoinette helped us 04:39 be able to know how to speak of the church, 04:41 how to do all those things 04:42 because it was the unknown in that situation. 04:46 We've already talked at the conference about it, 04:48 but now we're gonna be talking to the church 04:50 and everything else. 04:51 And I just think, 04:53 sorry, it was just very reassuring 04:57 and helping us to be able to know what to do. 04:59 It was. Yes. 05:01 Yeah, I took away that fear and it helped us realize 05:04 that God was in control. 05:08 And as I said before, this amazing Godly woman, 05:12 who I just adore, she was a church member, 05:16 and she noticed 05:18 that Jessica wasn't feeling well, 05:19 and she came up to me 05:20 and she asked me if she was pregnant, 05:23 and I said yes. 05:26 You know, she wrapped her arms around me 05:27 and we cried together. 05:30 And you know what, that amazing church 05:33 gave my baby girl a baby shower. 05:36 They wrapped her in love, 05:38 they let her know that it was gonna be okay, 05:42 that everything was gonna turn out okay, 05:43 that God was gonna be with us. 05:46 And we couldn't have asked 05:48 for a better outpouring of love, could we? 05:52 No. 05:54 I mean, the church was just amazing. 05:56 Everybody was supporting, 05:58 our family was supporting and loving. 06:01 And all through the way, 06:03 we could see where God was leading us. 06:06 And because of that, what do we have right now? 06:10 We have a young boy named Logan Isaiah Parker, 06:16 and he is a... 06:18 You know, it's interesting, 06:19 you can go into a room with him and it just lights up. 06:22 I mean, he is just incredible kid 06:24 and he is our grandson. 06:26 And he is almost three years old now. 06:30 It's been a few years. 06:32 But it's just watching him 06:34 and being able to grow and everything... 06:37 'cause we FaceTime, we don't live next door 06:40 like I wish we would. 06:41 That's the hardest part for us. 06:42 We FaceTime a lot. 06:44 And I mean, last night, 06:45 it was just incredible watching him. 06:47 He's very thrilled with things. 06:48 But, you know, it's interesting, 06:50 he's swimming now. 06:51 He is jumping off the dock into the lake 06:53 with his arm things 06:55 so he can just... 06:57 But, you know, thinking about it, 06:59 abortion is an end, and this is life. 07:03 And giving him the opportunity to have life is incredible. 07:06 It really is. I agree. 07:09 And also the fact that. 07:13 You know, we worry so much about what people think, 07:16 you know, and what they will say. 07:20 And we don't worry what God thinks. 07:25 We don't worry 07:26 what is God gonna say about all this. 07:29 And I think we have a habit of living in fear, 07:36 you know, because I mean, for us, right? 07:38 I mean, the moment that we heard about it, 07:44 I had fear, I was scared. 07:48 I was scared for us, 07:52 you know, as parents. 07:55 But, you know, thinking about it, 07:57 when we move back into the story 07:58 and talk about the fact that 08:00 when your daughter first heard the ultra sound, 08:02 and you heard that ultra sound, it was incredible. 08:05 But then when you went to the... 08:07 I wasn't able to go, 08:09 but you went to go to see the baby born, 08:13 that was an incredible part. 08:14 Maybe you should talk a little bit about that. 08:15 I will. 08:17 I remember it. 08:21 Again, you know, 08:22 it's hard to break from tradition. 08:24 It's hard to break from the way you grew up. 08:28 But I remember going... 08:31 My daughter invited us to go... 08:33 invited me to go to hear the baby's heartbeat. 08:38 And I remember thinking, 08:40 "Okay, I can do this." 08:43 And they put the ultrasound on her stomach, 08:46 and I heard that heartbeat so loud, so clear. 08:51 And it finally, just really became real. 08:55 This was a baby. 08:57 I mean we aw, ooh, and aw over babies, 09:00 and this was a baby. 09:02 But this wasn't just a baby. 09:03 This was my baby, my grandson. 09:09 At the time, I thought it was gonna be a girl, so. 09:12 But this was for real. 09:16 And you know what, Antoinette had given us 09:19 this little pen 09:20 and it had these two tiny little feet. 09:23 And I've kept that pen 09:26 'cause it reminded me that 09:30 that is life. 09:32 That is life. 09:34 Those two little feet, two little hands, 09:36 a little heartbeat. 09:38 And I thought about that 09:39 when I was listening to that heartbeat. 09:42 Later on, I got to hear and see this little baby, 09:48 and I got to see, again, the toes, the fingers, 09:51 the nose, the mouth, everything. 09:54 And at that moment, 09:56 I realized that that was a part of my husband, 09:59 that was a part of me, 10:03 that was going to be a new life. 10:06 And it just changed. 10:07 I didn't care what people thought anymore. 10:10 I only cared what God thought. 10:11 And God said, "This is life. 10:14 This is a gift that I have given you. 10:19 Take this gift and make it a blessing." 10:25 I know that right now there is someone out there 10:29 who is going through what we went through. 10:34 I know there are parents out there 10:37 who just found out... 10:39 your daughter is pregnant or has just found out 10:43 that your son has gotten someone pregnant. 10:46 And all of a sudden, now fear is taking over. 10:50 And you're thinking, 10:53 "What are people gonna say about me? 10:55 How can I get rid of this? 10:56 How can I make this problem go away?" 10:59 I'm asking you to stop. 11:02 Get on your knees right now 11:06 and don't worry what people say. 11:08 People will talk. I don't care. 11:09 You could live a perfect life 11:11 and someone is still gonna find something 11:12 to talk about. 11:13 But get on your knees right now and say, 11:15 "God, what do You want me to do? 11:21 I don't know what to do." 11:23 But you know what, God does. 11:27 I'm not saying that God wanted your life 11:29 to be this way. 11:31 I'm not saying that God said, 11:32 "Okay, this is the way it's gonna be." 11:34 But God, like I said before, God can take a crooked arrow, 11:38 a situation that was not meant to be 11:41 and He can turn it into a blessing. 11:43 He can still help you hit the mark. 11:47 You right now, as a parent, have a child that needs you, 11:53 the child that's in crisis, 11:56 and the child that can only see God through you. 12:02 And you have the responsibility 12:07 to show them God. 12:10 Amen. 12:11 And the way to do that 12:13 is by giving them encouragement, 12:17 giving them love, and giving them the strength 12:21 to help them get through this. 12:23 And you know what, God's gonna give you 12:25 all of that. 12:27 He's gonna give you strength, 12:28 He's gonna give you encouragement. 12:30 And along the way, 12:32 He is going to show you what you need to do. 12:37 I'd like to say one more thing and that is this. 12:41 If there's a pastor out there that's just found out, 12:43 maybe his daughter... 12:48 It's strange because of the fact 12:50 that he has just found out that she is pregnant. 12:52 I want you to get on your knees 12:54 and ask God to work in your life 12:56 because don't neglect your daughter, 13:01 don't be embarrassed of your daughter, 13:02 but know that she may have made a mistake, 13:05 but that doesn't mean you don't still love her 13:07 because she is asking, 13:09 she is crying out for love I'm sure, 13:11 and she needs you to be a support. 13:14 I know that church may say why, the conference may say why, 13:19 but your daughter has a baby, 13:21 and it needs to be first in your life 13:23 and put her first 13:25 because I think that's so important, don't you? 13:26 Oh, I totally agree. 13:28 You know, and I also think that 13:31 as a couple to support each other, 13:35 I mean, honestly and truthfully 13:36 because of the way I was raised, 13:39 you know and because you were raised so different, 13:42 you became my rock. 13:45 And I knew that 13:46 if everything was okay with you, 13:49 that everything was gonna be all right. 13:51 But God gave you the insight to know what to say. 13:56 And so I'm awfully grateful for that. 14:01 But I say, as a couple 14:03 we need to support each other in this situation. 14:06 And as a family, yes. 14:08 And as a family, we need to support each other. 14:09 They maybe in a mistake, they may be in situations, 14:11 but that doesn't mean you still don't trust 14:14 and work with God 14:16 cause God doesn't create junk, He creates life. 14:19 That's right. 14:21 And when He makes life, He makes it precious. 14:23 He says you are a jewel, you are a fine gold, 14:26 and so He is creating that in your life. 14:29 And I would also like to say that 14:32 that beautiful baby, 14:34 that tiny unborn child is not a curse. 14:37 It's a blessing. Amen. 14:39 And God's gonna turn your ashes into beauty. |
Revised 2019-03-21