This is going to be a difficult post, and one that may not be suitable for young readers, so please read it for yourself, before allowing any of your young ones to read it.
Now that I am an adult with children of my own, and faith in a God with high moral standards, I can look back across the span of time and see so many things I ought not to have done, and should have paid a lot more dearly for. Some of them are still effecting me to this day. One such event is the pregnancy and birth of my first daughter.
You see, I did not grow up in an atmosphere that frowned upon sex outside of marriage, and in fact, it was (for adults) perfectly acceptable, and the norm. So it's not surprising that I was, what some would term promiscuous as a 18 year old young woman. Let me tell you some of the story.
It was a few days before my 18th birthday, and I didn't have a boyfriend, but I did have a good friend that used to be my boyfriend, that I still very much thought I had feelings for. So I invited him to spend my birthday with me. We spent time doing things that many teens do, when they have no parental authority to answer to, or even worry about. We did not become an item again, it was all just a friendship "with benefits" as we liked to say back then. However, about a week later, I met a very nice man, and began dating him exclusively. He was a really nice guy. Unfortunately, at that time of my life, nice guys were not what I was into. How sad for me, but it was true, I cannot lie to you.
Sometime in mid to late April of 1992, I found out I had missed taking my birth control pills, and was very much pregnant. Because my pregnancy was the result of a missed pill, I could not accurately pin point when my last cycle had started. Because of all the irresponsibility on my part, my pregnancy had to be dated by ultrasound. If I recall correctly, the ultrasound stated that I was 13.8 weeks pregnant, by the time the appointment rolled around. By this time, I had decided that the nice guy was not the father of my child, and after getting the ultrasound done, it seemed to corroborate my certainty that he was not the father. If I counted back 13.8 weeks from the date of the ultrasound, the date landed squarely 1 day on either side of my birthday.
For those of you that are mothers, you may know that dating a pregnancy is taken from the date of the first day of your cycle, not from the day that the woman ovulates. You guessed it. Mr. Nice Guy was her father, and I didn't realize it until my daughter was 10 years old, and I actually took the time to pay attention to how things worked, and had a doctor that clarified the process for me. I guess about the only thing I knew when I became pregnant with her, was how it happened.
Well, here's where it gets interesting. After so many years, I no longer knew how to get in touch with him, and the sands of time had rubbed away some crucial memories, that would make finding him possible. Namely, whether his last name was what I remembered it to be, or not. However, I had always been honest with Mercedes, from the time I felt that she was old enough to understand, why her biological father was not part of her life.
Fast forward to about a week ago. Mercedes told Bobby that she was upset that I didn't seem to be looking very hard for her father, after I had told her not to try, that I would do it. To be perfectly honest, my efforts up to that point were only half-hearted. I really didn't expect to be able to find him very easily, if at all. What, with the lack of memory retention, and all.
Bobby took me aside after she told him that, and impressed upon me, just how important it was to Mercedes. So, finally, I got down to business. I scoured my brain, and the neighborhood he used to live in, trying to find any information that would help me find him. Well, I hit the jackpot, all at once today. I found her father, I found her aunt, and have been in contact with him, already. Mercedes is excited about the prospect of finally meeting the man that should have had the opportunity to be her father, and would have if not for my ignorance and naivete.
Don't get me wrong, though this is a humiliating truth about my life, I don't beat myself up about it so much. What's done is done, and there's no changing it. God had a plan, even in that.
So now, Mercedes is going to get to meet her father for the first time, sometime in the near future, and I'm wondering what kind of changes it's all going to bring. I have to admit to more that a little bit of anxiety about what may be coming, but I will trust in the Lord, and in His divine provision. Whatever happens, it will be for my good, and for theirs. I will ask however, that you pray for all of us, in this exciting, and somewhat scary transition we will soon be making. Pray for peace and stillness, while the Lord does what He has planned. I thank you, and my daughter would as well. Blessings to you all.
There is no "MORE" to this post.
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Friday, May 2, 2008
A Happy Ending...Or Is It the Beginning?
Posted by
Shalene
at
5/02/2008
Labels: Change, confessing sins, Fathers and Daughters, irresponsibility, secrets, skeletons in the closet
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Shalene, you are a good mom! A lot of moms wouldn't have been honest about it or searched for him because of their own pride, pain or embarassment, but you put your daughters needs first! I'm praying for you and your daughter. I understand a lot of this, but from your daughters pov. I grew up in a dysfunctional family and I never knew my father (he left us. My mom had diminished memories too. I did find him, when I was 34 years old, but by then he'd been dead for about 20 years. I have since formed a relationship with his brother who is a Christian. What I learned through this, is that God is good, God is faithful and He makes all things new. I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I'm proud of you! Sending you blessings and prayers! ~ Tracy
ReplyDeleteThank you Blessed One, for your prayers and your words of encouragement. As I said, though it is a humiliating fact of my life, it's not one that I beat myself up over. I mean, look at the blessing I got in spite of myself! :) It has been infinitely easier than I would have expected, so far, because the man that is her father has been very understanding, and does want to meet her, and get to know her, as soon as possible. He can't wait to get caught up on the 15 years he's missed. My daughter too, is excited because she learned she's got another brother! We're hoping that we can set up a meeting sometime around Memorial Day, since he lives in a town about 1 1/2 hours away. He has called a few times already, just for the specific purpose of talking to Mercedes and trying to get to know her. So even in this, though I don't know what the future may bring, I am blessed. My daughter gets her feeling of belonging (there was always a part of her that felt like something was missing, understandably so) and I get find closure for a part of my life I honestly never expected to get closure on. All praise, honor and glory to Him who works all things to the good of those that love Him! Amen? Blessings to you, and do come back again soon.
ReplyDeleteI'd be petrified if I were in your shoes, and worry quite a bit! Thank you for your honesty, Shalene; we all have rather unpleasant episodes in our lives and everyone makes mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI had a chance to be a father when I in my early 20s having gotten my then girlfriend pregnant. She didn't want the baby and I acceded. Till today, I still feel as if we had murdered someone and whenever the topic of abortion comes up I squirm a little. I said "we" because that girlfriend is now my wife.
Will pray for Mercedes and your family on this exciting but a uncertain phase in your lives. You're right to trust in God and I see in it possibly an opportunity for you to reach out to them with the Gospel. After all, our God has a knack for pleasant surprises! :)
God bless, and Shalom!
This is tough, but I'm sure it's also a relief of sorts.
ReplyDeletePrayers going up for y'all.
Hugz,
Kimberly
Isaiah, I'm not really scared or worried, all that much. It's just the prospect of change, and the level of change that has me a bit anxious. Up to now, I guess there has continued to be the thought that no matter what happened in this life, Mercedes and I had been in this together and that I would always be the one making decisions for her benefit, etc. (We started out, just she and I "against the world" and now, it's not just the two of us. It really hasn't been for quite awhile- We have Bobby to thank for that, but the mentality was still there.) I'm certain that my mentality about it, is part of God's reason in bringing this to pass. It certainly wasn't a healthy or trusting attitude to have. Anyway, all that to say that I'm actually quite happy for Mercedes and her father. I want nothing more than to see their relationship blossom, and only wish I had made the effort before now. Oh well, as I said before, what's done is done, and it was all in God's plan and timing, not mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such a difficult truth with me. That certainly took courage and transparency to admit, even to me. Thanks for stopping by, and for your prayers. Blessings and Shalom, my friend!
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your prayers and your comments. As each day passes, I'm seeing more and more how much of a blessing this is. The changes are my biggest anxiety, and even then, they aren't so big. Blessings to you!
I'll be keeping your whole family in my prayers, Shalene. I'm so glad you found him for your daughter's sake and I'll be praying that the meeting is a positive one for her. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteHi Shalene,
ReplyDeleteYour honesty and transparency is truly admirable. I'm sure that your daughter appreciates it as does her biological father.
So many testimonies, that could bless others, are never heard because people fear being honest about their entire journey. My hat off to you-- a very wise and fearless woman!
~Free
hi Shalene,(tears in my eyes) this is a Story I can relate to it is indeed painful when you have lived your youth in way you wished you hadn't sometimes I ask if it possible to turn back the hand of the clock, some are luckier than others.
ReplyDeletethank God for the fact that you have your daughter today and everything is working out to the Glory of God.
I Pray it all goes on well here on and also your Husband is a blessing to you
Godbless my sis