I Needed Help … and Inspiration Ministries Was There!

At the tender age of 12, Nancy was living out a nightmare.

Desperately broken by childhood sexual abuse, she began to consider suicide to end the pain. Thankfully her mom, though battling her own demons, had taken Nancy to church where she heard about a God who loved her and wanted to save her. Though life didn’t offer much evidence of love, that seed of hope sustained her through dark times.

The trials continued. At 19, while working the night shift at a truck stop, Nancy was abducted and sexually violated. The rape resulted in pregnancy, and miraculously Nancy chose to have the baby. Her attacker was arrested and returned to his home state to stand trial on other charges, but Nancy resolutely put the savage incident behind her—choosing to know nothing of the rapist, including his name.

While precious baby Chelsea opened Nancy’s heart to love in a way she had never known before, her life remained chaotic. When Nancy became pregnant again, she chose an abortion, which only deepened her emotional pain. Ten years passed before Nancy surrendered to the healing forgiveness of God … and entered into the reality of His love. It took another decade before she found a church home that accepted and nurtured her. Throughout her journey, Inspiration Ministries played a crucial role in her spiritual growth. She recalls:

“God puts certain posts in front of me that are exactly what I need. One day I saw an invitation to seek prayer from the ministry, and I took it! I believe God has a plan for us and provides support in every battle. I needed help, and Inspiration Ministries was there, offering that help.”

As God continued to strengthen Nancy, He allowed life to present new circumstances and challenges that helped her grow in Christ-likeness. When her daughter Chelsea became interested in genealogy, a DNA test soon connected her with a half-sister—another daughter of Nancy’s rapist. Suddenly the nameless attacker locked in a closet of her memory had a name—and he lived as a free man in Florida.

God began to help Nancy learn forgiveness in depths many will never know. Safe and secure in the love of her husband, her church, and her Savior, Nancy began to process what had happened all those years before—in the light of Christ’s forgiveness. When Chelsea chose to meet her birth father, Nancy and her husband traveled with her.

“Seeing him again after 28 years dug up a lot of emotions I hadn’t felt in years. But that is when God covers us with His grace and His presence, and He gets us through these things.

“I think he was a very wild, out-of-control young man. He didn’t care about other people. He very sincerely apologized to me for what he had done to me, and I forgave him. It wasn’t easy, but two ladies from my church had talked and prayed with me, and God got me through it.”

Nancy’s life radiates the grace she has received and is an inspiration for us all. She chooses to honor the Savior who rescues her from sin—her own and others—and uses life’s painful experiences to draw her closer to His everlasting love.