Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Shelton.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was adopted at birth. My parents were always open with me and I was grateful to my birth mother for choosing life for me. When I was a senior in college, I felt the need to find my birth mother. Then my parents discovered an incredible connection. My birth mother was 14 when she got pregnant with me and my mom was actually teaching her at the time! My mom made the first phone call to my birth mother and asked her if she remembered who she was. My birth mother said, “Of course! You were my favorite teacher!” Then my mom told her about me. They both cried and my birth mother said, “If I could have picked one person in the entire world for her to go to, it would have been you!”
I found out about my adoption story just six months before I started working at Real Options and I had no idea that God would use that story to impact hundreds of thousands of students through our education program.
But my story does not end there. My husband and I always wanted children together but our journey was not easy. We had years of infertility, then a miscarriage that led to another miscarriage. I struggled with why God wanted me to lead a ministry for women who wanted to abort when my only desire was to be a mother.
Several months after my miscarriage, a young pregnant woman came to Real Options and I was the only one who could see her. I prayed the Lord would take over because I knew I was not strong enough to help her. I asked her if she had ever had an abortion. Her response was, “Yes, but it has never bothered me.” Through our conversation, I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to tell her my story. I simply said, “I just recently went through two miscarriages and I’m grieving. I know you said your abortion does not bother you, but if you ever do need to grieve, I want you to know it is ok and we are here for you.” That sweet young girl began to sob and said, “I want to show you something that I have never shown anyone.” Then she pulled out a sonogram picture. She said, “This is my son, the day I aborted him. There has not been a day since that I did not grieve.” That day two mothers who had lost their children grieved together. We prayed and the Lord comforted to both of us. Because at that moment, she chose life for the child she was carrying.
The healing started that day, but I still longed for a child. After years of fertility drugs, possible but failed adoptions and many, many tears, I had to lay it all at the feet of Jesus. As I cried out to Him, peace flooded over me and the Lord spoke a promise into my heart that I would be a mother. I then felt compelled to write a letter to a little girl named Ava Jane.
Six years later, the Lord told my husband to pray over me. Two weeks after that, we found out we were pregnant and on October 12, 2019, our little Ava Jane was born! Today I rejoice in God’s faithfulness, His Sovereignty and that He allows me to continue to fight for life at Real Options.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Our biggest struggle was with infertility and miscarriages all while working at a pro-life ministry.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Real Options – what should we know?
Real Options is a faith based pregnancy resource clinic that has been serving Collin County for over thirty years. We offer REAL HOPE, REAL TRUTH and REAL HEALING to those in our community facing an unplanned pregnancy.
We accomplish this mission by offering FREE pregnancy tests, sonograms, STI testing/treatment, professional counseling and community referrals. We also always look for ways to share the hope of Jesus Christ.
Real Options also has two outreach ministries. Our 180 Degrees Abstinence Program is a sexual risk avoidance program designed to help teenagers recognize the consequences of premarital sex, the beauty of a healthy marriage relationships, and turn their thinking about sex around a whole 180 degrees. 180 Degrees impacted over 19,000 students last year. We have curriculums for middle school, high school, college, and parents.
We also have our Abortion Recovery Program for women who have suffered an abortion. This a 10 week bible study thatleads women through a study of healing and restoration.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are too many to list! But I will try. We have an incredible staff who are devoted to this ministry and serving our clients and community with excellence. You can find their roles at https://www.friendsofro.com/volunteer-2.
I am also blessed to work with my husband, Rich Shelton. He leads our education department that goes into the schools and helps young people see their worth. We are blessed that we both get to serve the Lord together through this ministry.
We also have about 40 volunteers who are AMAZING! Their roles range from patient advocates (those trained in peer counseling) to administration, to event planning, etc. We also have male volunteers that minister to the boyfriends/husbands/friends of our clients.
And finally, we have over 2500 donors and friends of the ministry. Real Options receives NO federal funding and so our donors allow us to continue helping women and families.
Pricing:
- ALL of our services and ministries are FREE of charge.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1776 W. McDermott Dr. Suite 100 Allen, TX 75013
- Website: We have two websties. One for our clients which is www.realoptionstx.com and one for our donors which is www.friendsofro.com.
- Phone: 972-424-514
- Email: info@realoptionstx.com (general info) and jshelton@realoptionstx.com (Jennifer’s email)
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendsofrotx/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FriendsOfRO
Image Credit:
Sara Hamilton
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