Ep. 86 This is Grace and Forgiveness

This episode explores the themes of pain, healing, and forgiveness through the remarkable story of Clara Caldwell, a survivor of a botched abortion. Clara’s journey highlights the power of forgiveness and the grace that can emerge from even the darkest of circumstances, particularly during the Christmas season.

• Clara's miraculous survival from abortion informs her path to forgiveness 
• The importance of gratitude and compassion in healing relationships 
• Exploring biblical teachings on forgiveness from Matthew 6:14-15 
• How Clara’s understanding of her mother’s choices affects her emotional response 
• Encouraging listeners to embrace their own paths to forgiveness 
• The transformative power of grace and love in overcoming past traumas 
• A prayerful reflection on letting go of burdens and seeking freedom 
• Discussion on the future direction of the podcast and audience engagement 

Forgiveness is a gift, not just for others but for our own healing process.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Forgiveness
• 12:52 Pondering Podcast Change for 2025

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the Words for Change podcast. Boy. It is what? The 24th of December and the year is all most over, and you guys are stuck in here for the entire year. Man, I hope you guys are ready for Christmas, as I am Getting ready, well, just about there.

Speaker 1: 0:17

Well, anyway, if you don't know me, I'm Lionel, and here on the Words for Change podcast, we share stories of redemption and how words can change. We share stories of resiliency and transformation by God's grace, and today we're going to dive into an extraordinary topic that speaks to the very heart of pain, healing and forgiveness, particularly as we go forward to the Christmas season, where we connect with our family and maybe some old wounds will arise. So let me ask you have you ever carried a heavy heart of unforgiveness or wondered if it was even possible to let go of deep hurt that you have experienced? That may seem unbearable. If so, I want you to know you're not alone in this episode. It's for you because there is hope, there is healing and there is grace. But what day is it, y'all? We're here on December 24th. We want you guys to stay plugged in and we want you to stay connected to Christ and remember, no matter what's going on in our world, christ is in charge here on Christmas Eve.

Speaker 1: 1:30

Christmas Eve, so what's in the news? Well, congress has passed 81 days of relief from the government shutdown, so we're excited about that. You guys know that. I really appreciate that. On Friday evening, the House voted 36634 to approve Speaker Johnson's third attempt to a stopgap funding bill. After an original bipartisan proposal exploded, the Senate said that they are just after midnight, president Biden hopefully, to sign it sometime, very, very soon, very, very soon. The bill funds the government until March 14th, providing $100 billion in disaster relief, $10 billion in agricultural aid, reconstruction money for bridges, particularly in Baltimore, and President-elect Trump on the 11th hour request to extend the debt. Democrats are embracing the chaos, opinion chaos that we brought by the coming GOP Congress. Okay, so it's easy to throw stones, but we know that God is in charge.

Speaker 1: 2:31

The scripture says, no matter where you stand on the aisle, that we should love one another. Well, the 2024 college football playoffs are kicking off and, man, I'm telling you, we have already seen some major, major upsets. Number seven Notre Dame cruise pass Indiana. Number 12, georgia is on. We'll play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Number six Penn State dominated SMU. To all my Texas folks, there you go, number five, texas, go Texas. Hey, man, it's going to be a barn burner, ok.

Speaker 1: 3:06

So hey, as we push toward Christmas Eve, just remember that God is in charge. It's not about the gift, it's more so about the thought. And I had to remind myself every day hey, don't get in trouble with credit cards and all of these things as we approach the Christmas season, because God commands that we be good stewards of the thoughts that we can reflect on. First, did you know that some people are survivors of abortion, people who were never meant to take a first breath? Did you guys know that Clara Caldwell is one of those survivors? Her story is nothing short of miraculous. Secondly, forgiveness isn't just an act of kindness, it's an act of freedom. It's how God lifts us out of the shadow of the pain of our past and brings us into his light and the light of our lives. So we're going to talk about Clara's story today and discover the freedom of forgiveness. So Clara's story begins with the truth that she never expected to learn.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Clara learned that she was adopted and decided at the age of 20 to seek out her birth mother. Her goal was to connect or reconnect with her past and express her gratitude for the life that she was given. But instead she understood something shocking. Y'all you won't believe this. She understood and uncovered a reality that she, clara, was a twin, that her birth mother, at the age of 13 years old, had undergone a surgical abortion, unaware that she was carrying twins. While one of the twins was lost, clara miraculously survived what I would like to call a botched abortion. Now, think about that. She found out that at the age of 20, that she had a twin and that her mother had tried an abortion For whatever reasons. We don't know why, but you can imagine, at the age of 13, she probably was encouraged, but we don't know the background. Ok, so think about finding all of this out at the age of 20, which was Clara, which was what happened with her. Now, listen, we can stay stuck with the story and end right there, but I want to push it forward.

Speaker 1: 6:02

The Bible is clear about forgiveness. This is what I say we're going to talk about In Matthew 6, 14 through 15, it says this if you forgive when people sin against you, god will forgive you, but if you don't forgive others, god will not forgive you. This verse is not just a command, it's an invitation to experience freedom, individual freedom that comes through forgiveness. Now, if we were not Christians, really wouldn't matter to bring a scripture verse up. We wouldn't have much weight, okay. But see, that's the problem. When we, as believers and people who believe in Jesus Christ, we believe in the power of the gospel, we believe the transformative power of God, it's true that God invades and comes into our very human circumstances, situation every single day. Right when we hold that core value, we have to let the scripture speak into and inform our lives and our decision making processes. It's one thing to go to church, it's another thing to become the church. It's one thing to read the Bible, it's another thing to try to live out what it is saying and what it is asking and inviting us to participate in.

Speaker 1: 7:24

So Clara's story reflects this truth that when she met her birth mother, she gave her a gift. Think about this. So, going forward, when she met her birth mother, she thanked her listen to me. She thanked her for choosing life for her and said that that was the greatest gift she had ever received. That was what Clara wrote in a card when she met her birth mother. Her birth mother began tearing up, but then those tears turned into deep sorrow when she revealed the truth about the abortion.

Speaker 1: 8:02

Instead of reacting, though, in anger and resentment, clara listened to her mother. See, she listened to her mother. I don't know how many of you listening to me could do such a thing. She listened to her mother instead of reacting out of anger, right. So she embraced her mother with compassion and chose to honor her bravery of sharing the real story of what she went through. Now let me ask you how many of you could respond like that?

Speaker 1: 8:36

It's one thing to forgive a friend for misunderstanding. It's one thing to forgive someone who's hurt you or someone who stole from you right, but it's another thing to forgive someone who tried to abort you when you were younger. I can say this this is what the power of God does, this is how God transforms us, and this is how God's power can transform our pain into forgiveness leading to our freedom. Ephesians 4.32 says be kind and compassionate and forgiving one another, just as Christ forgave us. So Clara understood this principle and she realized that her life, though marked by pain and a medical challenge, challenge, was still a gift. And that story wasn't just about survival. It was about showing God's grace to other people. Oh, this is the power of forgiveness. Okay, so one of the most striking parts about our story is how she views her birth of honor. She calls her a hero. Let that sink in.

Speaker 1: 9:34

A young girl who was coerced into abortion at 13 goes to raise Clara for a brief time and later shares the truth about her past. Right, she could have hated her mom for that, she could have walked away forever, but instead she chose to celebrate her mother's courage and to use her story to advocate for forgiveness. Right, romans 8, 28 says this Use her story to advocate for forgiveness. Romans 8.28 says this For we know that in all things, god works for the good to those who love him and call it according to his purpose Doesn't mean that God calls all things you guys know this but that means that God can cause all things that are harmful to work out for good, even your darkest moments. God's grace is at work. Clara's life is proof of that.

Speaker 1: 10:19

So, whatever pain, right, think about the power of forgiveness that can perhaps release you from that pain. It's not about saying what happened is okay. We're not saying that the unfortunately is okay, but it's about releasing the burden of anger and letting God transform that pain into something beautiful. When Clara speaks about her mother's her birth mother she's not just honoring her, she's also honoring God's word and demonstrating the strength that forgiveness can do can do by bringing freedom in your life, and maybe you're listening today and you're struggling with forgiveness. Maybe it's a parent, maybe it's a friend, maybe it's an ex-spouse, maybe it's a child, or maybe even yourself.

Speaker 1: 11:00

I want you here on this Christmas Eve. I want you to let this story remind you of the power of forgiveness. It's about trusting God to carry the weight of your pain and turns that pain into something redemptive. So, god, today I pray that, whatever pain my listeners are going through, that you would help them demonstrate the power of forgiveness, that they would see that their freedom comes through not holding people to their past or holding themselves bondage as a result, but releasing them in the name of Jesus. Freedom is possible through you. Help them to express forgiveness, as you have forgiven us. During this season of your grace, of your forgiveness, let the gift that we give to each other be a sign of your mercy and grace, something that we can't deserve, but demonstrates what you've done for us in Jesus name, amen. So as we close, I want to leave you with Colossians 3.13. Bear one another's burden, it says. So fulfill the law of Christ. Okay, forgive, as the Lord has forgiven us. If Clara can forgive her mother of something so profound, you can't do the same. What's holding you back? Nothing, okay. So let's commit to walking in forgiveness and trusting God as we push forward to 2025. Okay, and hey, just pray for us in 2025.

Speaker 1: 12:29

I just want to share this with you real quick before I let you go. We're praying for God's direction for the podcast. I've been thinking about starting a new podcast called Lord Talks Podcast, but then we're praying. Does it mean we will get rid of this? I don't know, but I ask that you pray with me and if you want to leave a message, just click the show notes. You can leave an audio message. The link is in the description and I would love to hear from you.

Speaker 1: 12:52

Hey, do you think we should keep this podcast or just change it up or just start a whole new one? So I'm praying about that. I'm asking you to pray with me on that as we move forward to 2025. Either way, god will be glorified in the message of the gospel, we'll go forward, okay, so don't forget to share this story if it encouraged you, and remember that forgiveness is a gift. It's not just something for others, but it's also for you. Okay, at least into your individual freedom. Until next time, may God's grace be with you, and I see you in 2025. Let's live in freedom.