aR Blog
Spring is in the Air!
Recently, I asked a new Living in Color participant to share something with you that she is personally finding helpful. This is what she wrote for you….
“Spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming, night no longer comes at 5 o’clock, and the hint of summer comes with the sun. It is a beautiful time for new beginnings! It is also the time for Easter and Mother’s Day! Get ready to be ambushed by pictures of children sitting on the Easter Bunny’s lap and going on Easter Egg hunts. And for some, a Mother’s Day passing with no children to celebrate YOU. Even the most beautiful times come with triggers. The Living in Color workbook (an 8-week healing support group available through our aR programs) says, “Don’t expect to be able to tolerate your grief if you don’t eat or sleep. Part of your commitment to recovery involves a commitment to your own health.” So be good to yourself this season. Find a piece of paper. Even a post-it note will do, and on it write at least 3 reasons why you are worth taking care of. Then put it somewhere you will see it all the time. Every day read your list, and remind yourself to do something nice, just for you.”
March aR Connection Meetings
aR Connection groups are for individuals who have a shared abortion experience to connect with each other and to discuss how they can find support. Connection groups provide a safe, confidential, compassionate and nonjudgmental place for individuals to begin the process of healing after abortion. Call/Text (614) 721-2100 and/or visit www.OurChoiceOurVoice.org
Columbus 2nd Tuesday of each month – 7:00 – 8:00pm – 04/09/19 – PDHC, 665 East Dublin Granville Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43229
3rd Wednesday of each month – 9:30 -10:30am – 04/17/19 – W.A.R.M., 150 Heatherdown Dr., Westerville, Ohio 43081
Other Cities & Counties Please call or text (614) 721-2100 for more information.
Living in Color – Openings Available This Spring!
Living in Color is a post-abortion recovery and healing program designed for use by a small, facilitator-led support group.
The small group meets once per week for 8 weeks and a workbook is used as a guide for the group.
What Living in Color participants are saying:
“I am so blessed to have completed the Living in Color sessions. [I can’t believe] the Freedom I feel…free from guilt and shame, No more anger toward my Mom or my ex-husband and knowing that I have 2 daughters who love me and don’t have anger or resentment toward me! What an amazing Journey…”
“Keep going through it…you’ll love the outcome! Very eye-opening yet comforting! Love how personal! The beginning of a better mind.”
“I found Living in Color to be helpful and supportive because I was able to share my experience with others open and honestly… has been so healing in all areas of my life.”
Begin your healing journey…Call or text (614) 721-2100 or email CarolynK@PDHC.org for more info and to register for a Living in Color healing group.
Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat Weekend SPACE AVAILABLE
September 13-15, 2019 – Columbus, Ohio
Rachel’s Vineyard
is a safe, confidential retreat to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion.
Call or text (614) 721-2100 or email CarolynK@PDHC.org for more info and to register!
Save the Date!
A Celebration of Restoration Luncheon
Save the Date
February 29, 2020 – 10:00am – 2:00pm
Love is a Decision
With Valentine’s Day approaching, you can’t go anywhere without seeing hearts, candies, flowers and advertisements about LOVE. But what IS LOVE really?
Many think of love in a romantic sense, or in the warm feeling they have toward family or friends. I’m not arguing that feelings aren’t involved,
but I would argue they aren’t the only things that comprise love.
As the quote above says,
LOVE is a decision.
When you don’t feel warm feelings toward someone, but you choose to be patient, or kind anyway. When you don’t feel like forgiving, but you do anyway. This is what true LOVE means.
So, what do we do this month, with symbols of LOVE all around, when maybe we are feeling unloved either by others or by ourselves. Maybe we don’t feel worthy of being treated kindly, or of receiving forgiveness.
Maybe we aren’t showing ourselves much patience.
I’d challenge you to see yourself as worthy of that true, unconditional love, AND to treat yourself accordingly, even if you don’t FEEL like it. Make this the month you make a decision to care for yourself in a new way.
One way to get started is to make a list of things that bring you JOY.
In the workbook Living in Color by Jenny McDermid she offers this exercise saying:
“Use all your senses to experience joy: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.” Here are a few examples to get you started: warm chocolate chip cookies,
snow covered spruce trees against a blue sky, going for a drive for no reason,
the warmth of sunshine flowing through a window on a winter’s day…
So TODAY start that list! Challenge yourself to write at least 10 things, even if they seem silly, and then post it somewhere you will see it often. Embrace these things, and add to your list often! You are worthy of LOVE and you deserve to fill your life with things that bring you
JOY this month and always.
If you are having trouble experiencing love for yourself, you may benefit
from the healing that attending an
aR Connections meeting,
A Celebration of Restoration Luncheon or
the Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat
retreat this month. Look below for more details…
~written by an aR Volunteer
February aR Connection meetings
aR Connection groups are for individuals who have a shared abortion experience to connect with each other and to discuss how they can find support. Connection groups provide a safe, confidential, compassionate and nonjudgmental place for individuals to begin the process of healing after abortion. Call/Text (614) 721-2100 and/or visit www.OurChoiceOurVoice.org
Columbus 2nd Tuesday of each month – 7:00 – 8:00pm – 02/12/2019
PDHC, 665 East Dublin Granville Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43229
3rd Wednesday of each month – 9:30 -10:30am – 02/20/2019
W.A.R.M., 150 Heatherdown Dr., Westerville, Ohio 43081
Other Cities Please call or text (614) 721-2100 for more information.
A Celebration of Restoration Luncheon