The Power of Mercy
I recently announced the cool opportunity that Cultivate Her gets to be a part of with Leading & Loving It and Mercy Ministries this year at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. I’ve talked about Leading & Loving It before and how much I love what they do, so I thought it would be great to share a story with you about the power of Mercy Ministries.
FINDING HOPE WHEN HOPELESS… FINDING JESUS
Three years ago, a girl—we’ll call her Rachel—walked through Mercy Ministries’ doors for the first time.
Rachel was born to parents who never wanted her—and they told her so constantly. She grew up believing she was no more than a mistake, wondering what she did to deserve such abuse at the hands of those who should have protected her. These were her PARENTS!
When most girls turn 13, they’re giggling about boys and trying on lip-gloss. When Rachel turned 13, she was sold into sex trafficking by her own family, for less than $100, abandoned like trash on the side of the road.
Tormented by nightmares and tangled in a web of lies, Rachel never knew she had a way out. When she escaped this horrific trap and led to Mercy by a friend, Rachel met the God who was watching over her even in her darkest moments.
She began to change her thoughts, learning Jeremiah 29:11 by heart: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
It didn’t happen overnight, but gradually Rachel began to see herself as God saw her—loved, valuable, and chosen by name.
She found Mercy… She found Jesus…
Sarah was far too young to be a mother when she got pregnant—by her own biological father. To hide his sin from the rest of the family, Sarah’s father knew he couldn’t bring her to a doctor. He took matters into his own hands and used a coat hanger to kill the unborn child. This was her FATHER!
Sarah was locked up in shame and self-hatred when she arrived at Mercy. How could anyone look beyond her horrible past?
Sarah’s counselor told her to listen to Joyce Meyer’s teachings while here at Mercy, and as Joyce shared how her father abused her as a child as well, Sarah learned to hope again. After all, if God could rescue Joyce from that pit and use her story as inspiration to thousands of people across the globe, then maybe, just maybe, He could do that for Sarah, too.
When she realized that God had sent His son to redeem her long before she even existed, she slowly began to believe, “This is never what God wanted for my life. He loves me. My biological father may have hurt me, but I have a new heavenly Father who promises that nobody will ever take me from His hand again.”
Sarah found Mercy… She found Jesus…
Like many Mercy grads, Rachel and Sarah left the program with their lives transformed and their hearts anew. Many of Mercy’s grads have wonderful families of their own, loving the Lord, and some on the mission field – these young women are now thriving as productive members of society.
Since Mercy Ministries opened in 1983, girls like Sarah and Rachel have been set free from all forms of abuse: human sex trafficking, unplanned pregnancies often times due to incest or rape and life-controlling issues that include eating disorders, depression, self-harm and addictions. This FREE Christian residential counseling program offers help to girls 13-28, again at NO COST! There are homes all around the country in Nashville, TN; St. Louis, MO; Lincoln, CA; and Monroe, LA.
More than 2-thousand other young women have successfully completed the program. They, too, found Mercy…. They found Jesus…
For more information on Mercy Ministries, visit www.mercyministries.com.
