“O Lord, you have searched me and Known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” Psalm 139:1-2
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;…” Jeremiah 1:5
Music has always had an impact on my life. “I Am a Promise,” “When God Ran”, “We are the Reason”, and “Let Me Live”1 were just a few songs that moved my heart when I was a child. In the last song babies (children) “in the womb” were singing about wanting to live, to see the sunshine, feel their mother’s arms around them… and to be a part of God’s creation. I did not know what “abortion” meant at twelve, but in my heart, I knew that killing a baby before it was born was wrong. They deserve life just like everyone else. God created each one of us on purpose. As the verse above states the Lord has Known us.
2008 was one of the first times I was confronted with “abortion.” I was around thirty-eight when God saw fit to bestow upon us another baby. We were sent to a specialist for a sonogram because of my age. When I questioned what they were looking for she mentioned the markers that would signify if there was Down syndrome. Quickly, I informed her that we were keeping our baby regardless of what the markers showed.
During my pregnancy I discovered that someone close to me had ended the life of their child. I didn’t know they were expecting. When I found out, I realized that our children would have been born weeks apart. I grieved for days, no, weeks. I was angry too because the termination was a secret, and I was not supposed to know.
Late in 2020, a new friend started a house of prayer in Baxley. As we met and prayed, I was drawn to a pair of little baby boots. These boots had a card on them from the mother. She had written a note to her baby, given him a name, and asked for forgiveness.
Later I found out that the baby’s grandmother had paid for her to have an abortion. It was touching that the baby’s mother had found healing through the act of writing a note to her child asking her baby for forgiveness. At the same time it was sad. Sometimes I would hold the boots and just grieve.
“The Holy Spirit helps in our weakness, for example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” (Rom 8:26, NLT)
In January of 2021 “The KnowN Rally” was scheduled to begin in Appling County. The thirty-day goal was to bring awareness to life, Jesus, and the number of abortions occurring in Georgia in a given year. Crosses were placed in front of the meeting tent to represent the lives of our preborn neighbors that were known to have been killed before birth during that period of time.
The Monday after the rally, a local prayer team started praying for a Georgia Right to Life chapter leader to rise up per the request of the Director of Chapter Development, Genevieve Wilson.
Mid-February I was holding a12-week-old silicone fetal model baby left by Gen Wilson. Later while I was reflecting on why I was so grieved and troubled over the silicone baby, God impressed upon me to support the ministry of the preborn babies.
Sometime after that I learned that God grieves over the babies that are killed in the womb. He feels their pain and hears their silent cries.
Within months of filling out the paperwork to become the leader of the Appling County Chapter of Georgia Right to Life leader, a house was offered to us to use for the ministry of preborn babies.
After many, many, months of prayer, steering committee meetings, discussions with Gen Wilson and Pastor Lamar Lee, the Pastor of the Baxley Church of God, the waiting was finally over.
Pastor Lee and his church’s elders agreed to take the home under the ministry of the church so that KNOWN would be birthed in our region. I am still in awe of what God has done and is continuing to do.
On January 21, 2023, the pregnancy ministry at the KNOWN Home was officially opened. We will be able to house up to four expectant mothers who are deemed in a crisis situation.
From the first day in the home, each resident will work on her exit plan. The main question she will focus on will be: what do I want my life to look like after the baby is born? Every day until she delivers her baby, she will be intentionally work towards her goal(s).
Every twelve weeks she and her mentor(s) will evaluate her progress and discuss what she needs to do in order to reach those goal(s). Planning what steps to take and readjusting the plan will be one of the important steps to take of preparing for her delivery date. It is our hope that she will leave the home better equipped to step into the next chapter of her life.
The mentors will also come alongside each mother to love, pray for, and encourage her as she is taught about the love of our Father. She will also be required to attend weekly Celebrate Recovery meetings, church on Sundays and Wednesdays, doctor’s appointments, and a group Bible Study, She will also be expected to obtain a job if she does not already have one.
It is our hope that mothers will leave the KNOWN Home better equipped to step into the next chapter of their lives. Please pray with us for open hearts and open homes to identify these mamas and their babies should they need further assistance. Also pray that other homes will be birthed in our state and across our nation to show the love of Christ.
Finally, would you help by being a missionary for the KNOWN Home? If you learn of or know anyone who needs our help, please send her our way. Our email address is Known-Home@proton.me.
The song “Nobody” by Casting Crowns sums up how I feel about all that the Lord has done.
1 “I Am A Promise” by the Gaither Vocal Band, “When God Ran” by Benny Hester, “We are the Reason” by David Meece, “Let Me Live” by Pat Boone
Valerie Jones
912-253-0767