I grew up in a very loving stable home with two parents and one sister. Although we were a moral, law-abiding family, we hardly ever went to church, prayed, or even talked about God. We considered ourselves to be Christians, but now that I look back, I know we were far from having a personal relationship with Jesus.

When I was 14 years old, I became very rebellious. I started hanging out with a really wild crowd and began dating a man 8 years older than myself much to my parent's dismay. My boyfriend was very emotionally abusive to me and sometimes physically abusive. I didn't have the courage to break up with him though. Halfway through my Sophomore year in high school, I found out that I was pregnant. Even though I was already in the 2nd trimester of my pregnancy, my doctor recommended that I have an abortion. My friends thought that was the best option as well. 

I am so thankful that both of my parents supported my unborn baby and me. In their minds God gave me this baby for a reason! I now know that the Lord was using my painful situation to bring healing to my mom who had been raped by a friend, gotten pregnant, and had an abortion ten years earlier. My mom kept the rape and abortion a secret from everyone except my dad. My mom was not very educated on fetal development and was told by her doctor that her baby was just a blob of tissue. In her heart she knew that abortion was wrong, but she felt like abortion was her only option. My dad and mom told the family that she had a miscarriage, and my mom's pregnancy was soon forgotten by everyone in the family. But my mom never really forgot. She lived all those years in silent grief and a broken heart over the loss of her unborn baby. She kept her depression well-hidden, but she admits now that she hated herself for going through with the abortion.

Because of my crisis pregnancy, my mom gained the courage to come out in the open about her abortion and get counseling at a crisis pregnancy center. She is now the leader of a Post-Abortion Bible Ministry and, for the past 6 years, she has been helping other women who have had abortions so that they may experience the healing and forgiveness she has received through Jesus Christ. Because of my unplanned pregnancy, my dad also grew closer to the Lord. I remember one weekend he went to a Promise Keepers meeting and when he came home, I could see a spark in his eye. He was "on fire" for Jesus and has never been the same since.

When I was 5 months along in my pregnancy, I was able to see my baby moving around and kicking through an ultrasound. I was so excited that I had chosen life for this baby. Still, my doctor asked me to consider having an abortion since I was so young. She said it would be very easy to set up an appointment at Planned Parenthood and have an abortion, so that I may go on with a "normal life". When I told her I planned on continuing on with my pregnancy, I could see the look of disgust in her face.

Being a pregnant teen was one of the hardest times I have ever gone through. I endured demeaning comments, points and stares, and gossip that I knew was going on behind my back. Most of my friends at school alienated me because I was pregnant, so I spent every weekend at home by myself in my room. Most of the people in our small community distanced themselves from my family and me because of my pregnancy. I do remember a few Christian couples who went out of their way to show their support of me choosing life. They gave me maternity and baby clothes and a crib. One of the good things about not having any friends during my pregnancy was that I had so much time to think about my life and the direction I was heading. I made a decision to start living for Jesus and I began a personal relationship with Him. I broke up with my boyfriend despite his threats of suicide and started attending church regularly.

One month after I turned 16, I gave birth to a baby boy, Andrew. I was able to go back to school with the help of my mom, who kept Andrew with her at her home day care. I returned to my old circle of Christian friends, one of them being Mike Weatherly, my pastor's son. I had met Mike when I was 13 years old when his dad moved to our town and took on the job of pastor at our Baptist church. When Andrew was 4 months old, Mike and I began courting. Andrew and Mike bonded immediately. I finished high school #3 in my class while Mike enlisted in the Navy for a 4-year tour.

During this same time, Andrew's biological father "went off the deep end". He did not like the fact that I had moved on with my life. My parents and I had to get a restraining order against him because he threatened to take Andrew away from us. He ended up spending several months in jail for statutory rape and breaking the restraining order 6 different times. 

Throughout the ongoing court dates and custody battles, and despite the fact that Andrew's father constantly told Mike that he would beat him up, Mike was there for me. Unlike my fair-weather friends, Mike stood by me and supported me in any way he could. He didn't care what my past was like. At the age of 18, Mike took on the role of daddy to my son.

Two and a half years years after Mike and I started courting, when Andy was almost three years old, Mike and I got married on April 29, 1995. Mike and I talked about the possibility of Mike adopting Andy, but we knew that we would have to get permission for that from Andy's biological father. The likelihood of that happening seemed impossible. I knew in my heart that if Mike was never given permission to adopt Andy, it would not affect Mike's love for Andy at all. 

One week after we were married, Mike was due to report to the Navy base in Florida. Of course, Andy and I were going to move to Florida as well, but Andy's biological father refused to give permission to let Andy leave the state of California. So just four days after our wedding, Mike and I went to court to seek permission to take Andy with us to Florida. It was the National Day of Prayer. All of the churches in our small town prayed that our new family could go to Florida together. In my mind, I already knew the outcome. We were Christians and God was on our side, so of course Andy would be allowed to move there with Mike and me. But the judge's decision was shocking. Not only was Andy not allowed to move to Florida, he was now forbidden to move outside of four different counties in Southern California. The judge told me that I could move to Florida with Mike, but I would have to leave Andy behind with his biological father. There would be no way I would abandon my 2-year-old child to a father that had never bonded with his own son. In addition to the ruling that would tear our new family apart, the judge granted Andy's biological father weekend visits even though we had testified that Andy had been exposed to adult movies, alcohol, violent behavior, and wild parties. His biological father did not even seek weekend visits, but he was granted them anyways.

Just nine short days after our wedding, Andy and I drove Mike to the airport, not knowing when we would get to see him again. Andy was devastated. The only daddy he'd ever known had to leave and I couldn't tell him when his daddy would be back. Mike, Andy, and I all hugged and cried as we said good-bye to each other at the airport. Watching the airplane take off, I held Andy in my arms and tried to suppress feelings of anger and hopelessness. I struggled with depression, not knowing how this court decision fit into God's plan, but I held onto the truth that all things work for good to those that love God, so I trusted Him. We prayed that the Navy would allow Mike to be transferred back to California.

The Lord was faithful in transferring Mike back to California after five months in Florida. We moved to the Navy base in Ventura County, one of the counties that Andy was allowed to live in, only to find out that Mike was assigned to a mobile battalion, which meant that he would be home for seven months and then gone for seven months for the next three years. Those 7-month deployments were very hard on me, especially since Andy's biological father always caused problems when Mike was gone. Because Andy's father owed $20,000 in child support and had never really bonded with his own son, Mike and I kept praying that Andy would be able to be adopted by Mike. Whenever we would bring this idea up with Andy's father, he would become very irate and we would always end up in a big fight. So we decided to give it over to the Lord and let Him work in His own time.

While Mike was gone on each deployment, I volunteered at the local crisis pregnancy center, helping other women who faced crisis pregnancies. Mike was one of the battalions only "open" Christians. He was able to witness to his unsaved friends in the Navy, sometimes through his words and the Bible, but always through his actions. I was beginning to see that the reason that terrible court decision was made was so that Mike and I could minister to the unsaved around us. 

I found out I was pregnant in May of 1997, one month after Mike came home from Korea. Unfortunately my due date was January 10th 1998, which meant that the baby would be born in the 2nd month of a 7-month-long deployment. Mike was able to fly home on leave to see our new daughter, Tiffany Elaine, make her entrance into this world, but his leave ended when she was 8 days old. Five months later he was home for good! Because of all the separation our new family had been through, we decided that Mike would not re-enlist in the Navy when his 4 years were complete.

When Mike got out of the Navy in September of 1998, we accepted a job at Jenness Park, a Southern Baptist camp, in Northern California. We prayed that Andy's biological father wouldn't cause a big stink about us moving so many hours away. Surprisingly we got permission from Andy's father to move to Jenness Park. We promised to bring Andy to his father for visits on the holidays and summer visits. Just the thought of Andy being in that unsafe atmosphere for several weeks at a time made me nervous and scared, but I had to put Andy in God's hands. I had to completely trust God with Andy's life. In my heart I knew God wouldn't put Andy in any situation where He wasn't in control. We moved to Jenness Park and started, what I believe, a new chapter in our lives. It felt like for the first time since we were married, we were finally a family.

Just one month after we moved to Jenness Park, Andy's father called and said he wanted Mike to adopt Andy. After all the years of arguing over wanting Mike to adopt Andy, things didn't turn out the way we wanted until we had surrendered our own will over to God's will. The adoption was an answer to 6 years of praying by every member of our family! One week before Andy turned 7, the adoption was final! By forgiving the child support debt of $20,000, we were able to have our own family, and it was well worth it.

Since writing all of these events, our family has been so blessed. We now have Kaylie Elisabeth, born March 2000, Isaac Joseph, born August 8, 2002, Lilla Eden born August 13, 2004, and Josie Rose born on February 26, 2008! We are now living in East Tennessee on 2 acres and raising chickens, turkeys, dairy goats, ducks, and rabbits and learning to grow a lot of our own produce.

From this experience, I have learned that no pregnancy is unwanted. God is the Master Planner of every pregnancy! Each and every child that He brings into this world will serve a purpose for His glory! Every time I look at my son, Andy, I thank God that I chose life for him. Where would I be today if I would have chosen abortion? I can guarantee you that my arms would be forever aching to hold a baby I would never know.

The most important thing I have learned in my life is that Jesus desires to have a personal relationship with everyone, no matter how sinful their past was. Jesus allowed me to make a U-turn in my life and I know that He doesn't remember any of the wrong decisions I made along the way. Jesus wanted more than anything to forgive my sins and accept me as His child.

After many years of rebellion and running away from God, I chose to surrender to Jesus and run to His open arms. I have been washed white as snow and cleansed with His blood. Jesus pulled me out of a dark pit and into the warmth of His love and I'm forever grateful! I pray that I will never take any of His blessings for granted. Jesus is faithful!