I did not grow up in a Christian family.

Actually we really weren’t much of a family at all.

We were individuals simply co-existing because our culture mandates it. Like every child, I longed for acceptance & unconditional love, but I never felt a lasting sense of belonging & being wanted. Emotionally I felt like an orphan. For as long as I can remember I have had an “orphan spirit”. No matter who was around me I always felt completely and utterly alone.

The summer after I graduated from high school, I found out I was pregnant and the reality of just how alone I was took on new meaning.  My parents wanted NOTHING to do with another “kid” so I was told to either I terminate the pregnancy or I had to get out.

To say I was terrified would be an understatement.

Feeling alone in a place you call home is one thing, having NO home is another thing entirely.

Not knowing where to turn, I found myself downtown at a clinic, prepared to terminate the pregnancy.  Unlike now, when you can simply schedule the procedure and have it done within a matter of hours, back then it was a two-day process.  The first day you came in and talked to the medical staff, watched a video and the next day you came back in to have the “procedure”.  As I sat in that office watching the video, silent tears streamed down my face.

The nurse came in and sat with me quietly for a few minutes.  And then she said the magic words…”you know that you DO have another option.”  It was exactly what I needed to hear. In that moment, it was as if I was given permission to say yes to continuing that life inside of me.

That one conversation forever altered the course of my life.

I gave birth to my daughter, Bethany, on October 3, 1990.

What an amazing gift becoming a mother is.

Being able to pour into my child all of the love, compassion and nurturing that was withheld from me was a defining moment that redefined how I viewed myself and the world around me.

Barriers that I had built around my heart to protect myself were no longer necessary.

It’s impossible to find the right words to do it justice.  All I can tell you is that in the months…and eventually years that followed her arrival into my life, the holes that existed began to fill up and the deep ache from my family wounds began to fade. As a mother, I learned how to give and receive unconditional love through the gift of my daughter’s life.

Very soon my Bethany will finish her sophomore year at Northwestern and will be getting married to an amazing young man.  Although our journey had many peaks and valleys, everything has had a purpose and is just how God divinely planned it to be.

Not long ago, I was introduced to a book by Richard Rohr called Everything Belongs. You can find the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Belongs-Gift-Contemplative-Prayer/dp/0824519957 The poignancy of the title struck me the moment I heard it.  In much the same way, the realization that everything in my life up until this moment has been in preparation for the work I am doing at Southside.

Today, I am the Executive Director of a non-profit organization,

Southside Life Care Center in South Minneapolis.

Simply put, our mission is to serve

women and children in crisis.

I love the simplicity of that definition, because it leaves a lot of room for us to really build a program around each woman who walks through our doors that is specific to her needs, to her circumstances.  Among many other things, we help women facing unplanned or crisis pregnancies, like I myself faced many years ago.  But we don’t believe in the idea of a one size fits all program.   Our goal is to have a lasting impact in their lives and to do that, we really have to have a solid understanding of what brought her to us in the first place.  Everything we do is about building relationships.   And every once in a while, we are in the right place at the right time, and another young woman receives the gift of “permission” she was longing for and the comfort of knowing she is not alone.

But there is so much more to the story!

We are so much more than a free pregnancy test and a 30 minute counseling appointment.

We are in the business of providing tangible solutions to young women so that they CAN choose life.  We work hard to break down barriers and create opportunities that many of the women we serve wouldn’t find anywhere else.  This is not about coercing or bullying women into continuing a pregnancy, it’s about giving them the resources, the support system and the tools they’ll need to be successful whether they parent or make an adoption plan.

Do you know a young woman in need of resources?

For more information about Southside watch our YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQOfOsc3r_M

Or visit our website at www.southsidelifecare.org

Are you inspired to make a difference?

Here are the top 3 ways you can help Southside further the mission of helping women and children in crisis:

1. Pray & Spread the word that there is HELP at Southside - forward this link to your friends & family, asking them to spread the word as well.

2. Donations - financial support as well as baby items are needed.

3. Volunteers to work either behind the scenes or as mentors with the women in our programs.

Please contact us via the website or by telephone: 612.823.0301

One of the questions I’m asked most often is “What was it that made the difference for you?” I guess the short answer is that along the way, I had people who saw my potential when I couldn’t.  Who loved me when I couldn’t even love myself yet.  Who were willing to invest in me and believe in me.

In the end, that is really what this is all about.  Paying it forward.

Creating the same opportunities for success in the lives of these women and their children

that were created for me 20 years ago.