Shelly: After I accepted Jesus to be my Savior at the age of 24, He laid it on my heart to be a storyteller. In 1996, I remember crying while listening to a pregnancy center’s director speak to the church I was attending. She was sharing God’s work at the center and of how they helped the teen girls who were pregnant. She asked for storytellers.
I was once a pregnant teen who placed my precious baby for adoption. I was 17, in an abusive relationship, with no means of supporting this little one. The father of the baby and I chose an open adoption. On May 18,1989, my beautiful daughter was placed in the loving arms of her forever parents. Fast forward to when she was 16, I reconnected with her through mail and social media. During that time I learned that she had a sister and a loving childhood. I also learned that she grew up living next door to my pastor. Understand that we live in a small New Jersey town outside of Philadelphia and they live about 2 hours away in a small Pennsylvania town on the other side of Philadelphia about 2 hours away. So, for God to plant my pastor and his family in New Jersey is a God story in itself!
In September of 2020, we were reunited in person at her baptism. She shared on Facebook that she and her husband had accepted Jesus as their Savior and were getting baptized. I reached out to her mom and arranged for my husband and I to surprise her. That day, I had also witnessed over 50 people get baptized at the same time (another God story). That day will be forever carved on my heart. God has so richly blessed me with a godly husband and 4 more beautiful children. They are all grown up now. My husband and I celebrated 25 years of marriage this year and I am so blessed! Since the day I heard the speaker from the pregnancy center, I have shared my story with youth groups and high school students encouraging them to wait for sex until marriage. God continues to write our stories for His glory. Thanks for the work that you and your family are doing! My favorite song is Truth Be Told.
