Deeper Still

Did you know that only 2% of abortions take place in the U.S.? That means that the world overseas is full of those who have abortion-wounded hearts. Lisa Mackie, Executive Director of Deeper Still Upper Cumberland, discusses how she has been involved in seeing Deeper Still expand nationwide and even begin to grow worldwide. 

Lisa was isolated and didn't trust others with the secret of her abortion out of fear of what others would think of her. Her abortion led to poor choices and unhealthy relationships. That all began to change when God got ahold of her heart.

"In California, we always kept our windows open, and you could hear how dysfunctional my home life was growing up," Lisa said. However, she put on a brave face and covered her shame about her home life, and pretended like everything was ok. Later, she would end up in a crisis pregnancy, and that too, she covered. 

After her abortion, Liz had instances of abusing alcohol and pursuing men. She also had anxiety, depression, and outbursts of anger. Liz was sure God was punishing her ten years after her abortion when she struggled with infertility. Once she started to develop a relationship with Jesus and experience forgiveness, the darkness started lifting. Now Liz is working to be part of helping others heal.

Liz was only five years old when her father died in the Vietnam War. This was to set her life on a trajectory of fear, perfectionism and desperately wanting to be loved by a man. When she got pregnant by a man she had not been with for long, he asked, "What are you going to do?" She didn't want an abortion, but she didn't want to be pregnant. He drove her, and he paid for it. The relationship was over in a matter of weeks after the abortion. 

Because of shame, Shannon kept the secret of her abortion from her church friend Tara and even from her husband. When her pastor mentioned abortion statistics and healing in church, she sought out a Deeper Still retreat and broke the power of shame in her life. She then was able to tell her husband, who responded with love and support. She and Tara now have a mission to share their story and be part of bringing healing to others.

Tara's retreat was life-changing. Though she had a lot of healing prior to her retreat and was a ministry leader, she was able to grieve her loss and gain deeper healing. Tara had been working with Shannon through healing, but abortion did not come up in those sessions. When Shannon's pastor mentioned abortion in his sermon, Shannon was soon connected with Deeper Still and attended her own retreat.

Tara grew up in a non-believing home. Alcohol abuse and divorce led to instability as she entered her teen years and young adulthood. A pregnancy in her twenties was not supported by others in her life and ultimately, an abortion was procured. The trauma of abortion led to more problems, but her life stabilized and she married a good man. She experienced infertility and post-partum psychosis and believes there may have been a link to her abortion.

Charlie had an abortion in his past that he kept secret from his wife. At first, he suppressed it, and also became full of rage and shame. Even years of therapy did not help him connect the dots from his abortion history to his emotional and marriage problems. When he finally told his wife, he began to heal and eventually attended at Deeper Still Retreat where he went through a deep healing.

Charlie grew up very self-protective and felt like he was raising himself. He never felt like he had any guidance and saw coping through drinking. So, as he grew into adulthood, he followed that pattern of drinking and looking down on women. When his girlfriend got pregnant- there was only one thing he wanted her to do- get an abortion.