Solutions December 2018 | Page 21

Motherhood wasn’t easy for Cathleen, but
it taught her that love is about sacrifice.
Reflecting on God’s plan to save her,
Cathleen shared, “God knew that my
pregnancy would be the only thing to stop
me in my tracks and turn me back in the
direction of truth. I shudder to think of
the person I would be today if I’d made
the ultimate choice to throw my son’s life
away. God used my unplanned pregnancy
as the means to change my belief that
Christianity is a religion of laws into a
belief that I serve a personal God and a
merciful Savior.”
of our children.
Cathleen finished telling her story at
our church by sharing what she learned
through her experience. “I stand here
today a believer in three things. First, no
matter the circumstances from which a
pregnancy is conceived, life is always a
gift. My son Dominic is a huge testament
to that reality. Secondly, God’s promises
are true, and the choice to obey him will
always result in blessing. Thirdly, the lies of
this world are lies, and a sinful choice can
never result in happiness. Only by clinging
to Christ’s goodness, imputed to me on the
C a t h l e e n r e c a l l e d t h a t , i n a l l h e r cross, can I change from the person I have
disobedience, she knew that with one been and become truly fulfilled.”
phone call home to her parents, everything
would be alright. She didn’t doubt their The day Cathleen turned from her sin, all
love or their unwavering convictions and heaven rejoiced, and the Great Shepherd
knew that they would support her decision who sought out this lost sheep celebrated
to keep her son. That assurance bolstered the loudest. Back on earth, her family is
her courage to make that call. In the end, still rejoicing.
God used Jim and Barb’s parenting—the
value they passed on to their daughter Adapted from Parenting First Aid: Hope for the
Discouraged. © 2018 by Marty Machowski. Used by
regarding the sanctity of life—to save her. permission of New Growth Press. Excerpt may not be
God has a way of humbling us as parents reproduced without the express written permission
of New Growth Press. To purchase this and other
to depend on him, but once we cling to resources, please visit www.newgrowthpress.com.
him, he uses our labors for good in the life
Marty Machowski
Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant
Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania,
where he has served on the pastoral staff for thirty
years. Machowski leads Promise Kingdom, the
gospel-centered children’s ministry of Covenant
Fellowship. He is the author of numerous resources
for churches and families, including The Gospel
Story for Kids series, The Ology, and Parenting
First Aid. Machowski and his wife, Lois, and their six
children reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is
also the Executive Editor for Children’s Resources
at New Growth Press.
Solutions • 21