Today many folks of many faiths are marching down the streets of Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the issue of LIFE for unborn little ones. i realize that the issue of abortion pushes people’s emotional buttons, but here are my thoughts – again!
Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli, Tim Tebow or…Beethoven – what a dull place (!) No beautiful tenor’s voice melting your heart or talented football player raising his faith flag on & off the field, or truly great music (Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, one of the most amazing choral pieces ever, or his 9th Symphony, or his 5th, or good grief, any of his music!) But despite potential birth defect challenges, their mothers chose Life…as did mine (thankfully) & yours (obviously.)
Since January 22, 1973 when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe vs. Wade, however, many mothers & mothers-to-be have not chosen life. Today, thousands are marching for Life in Washington, DC to raise awareness of these little ones who are no more – an estimated 50 million over the past 40 years.
40 very long years for this issue to polarize & desensitize us to the real issues at stake: the human rights of little ones who can’t speak for themselves…(yet!) AND wise choices, responsibility, education, respect (of all shapes & sizes!)… and love.
Abortion is such a divisive issue… for some reason it’s been easier for me to stand between soldiers shooting children in a conflict zone than to speak out on this. Kinda weird for an ‘in-your-face, hey soldier can’t you see that’s a child you’re shooting?’ gal, but I have friends across the political spectrum & working in the HIV/AIDS arena in Africa (saving lives) many dear colleagues have very differing views.
I respect their views & am so grateful for friendships & amazing work done together, but this issue DOES need a bit of attention: LOTS of Attention & Intention – for the Roe vs. Wade status quo (deaths of babies – little lives beloved of God routinely extinguished @ 1,200 per day) to CHANGE.
Of course, women SHOULD be in charge – if all the world’s nations were led by women imagine what a better place this globe would be! (Overseas in my 20’s I asked the visiting male CEO of our large INGO, ‘we are all about empowering women in our projects, why aren’t there more women National Directors & VPs?’ not shy was I!)
As a University student I thought women should decide…& that there should be more education & prevention available, so women wouldn’t face such a heavy-duty choice of life vs. death inside them. But then a friend & I memorized Psalm 139 & gradually (it took a few years) those verses moved from recitation of the mind to the inner recesses of my heart…
“…For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully & wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well…”
…to a change of views, views for most part privately held & not the kind of thing to march about. But a few years ago Kathleen, a friend from church, encouraged me to participate in the March for Life.
What a wow(!) experience.
We started with a 6:30a.m. church service, then prayed our way on the buses up to D.C. where we joined thousands upon thousands of all kinds of folks: young, old, students (elementary – high school – university – grad school), pastors, priests, nuns (lots of them), short-haired, long-haired guys, from all over the country. There were Baptist church signs next to Knights of Columbus, folks singing, praying (lots of that going on all over.)
All raising voices for the voiceless Little Ones… so dear to the Heart of Jesus, so close to the heart of God, our Creator, the Giver of Life & so close to the Heart of Mary…(oops, tilt go the heads of my non-Catholic friends! But for sure, as the Mother of Jesus, go figure Little Ones are close to her Heart. She also asked Jesus to look after WINE at a wedding feast, so she is always way cool in my book!)
Mothers are little-life-generators (ok, so fathers have to help out a wee bit) but how noble to BE a mother (not an easy job with diaper disasters, scraped knees, terrible teens & all that!) Being a Mama is tough, no doubt! Kinda intimidating if you’re young, unmarried & pregnant.
My sister, Cindy, worked in a Crisis Pregnancy center in a conservative area of North Carolina. Many gals from secular backgrounds were open to having their babies if they could figure out ways to support them, whereas girls from conservative Christian homes tended to choose abortion: “our families won’t understand.”
Egads. It’s not just laws that need changing!
Hearts need to change – (as always, mine 1st) – maybe if we didn’t spend so much time judging, more girls faced with this challenge might actually choose Life.
I am so grateful to God for my Mama. After delivering my oldest sister, Shere, she almost died 9 hours later during Toxemia convulsions. After 10 days of round-the-clock nurses she survived, but despite these challenges she went on to have 4 more little ones (since I am #4 of 5, so glad she & Papa kept going! : )
Thank you, Mama, for your love & choosing Life (5 times!)
Praying that God will transform hearts on Capitol Hill, in the White House, our State Houses, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, schools, universities…the hearts of fathers, mothers & mothers-to-be… with love for the unborn, the Little Ones..
Imagine a world without Andrea Bocelli, Tim Tebow or Beethoven…
Imagine a world without me, or YOU!
Grace, peace & LIFE (for the Little Ones!)
Virginia
Here’s a thought-provoking quote from Mother Teresa ….
“We are talking of love of the child which is where love and peace must begin… I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.
And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child…. (Mother Teresa, 1994 National Prayer Breakfast address)
Roses in the Rubble 
Hey, Gl, good read.
Glad to hear of how God’s word via Psa 139 accomplished its work in your life. Setting aside for now the relatively rare cases where a mother’s life is in legitimate danger, one thing that has always baffled me is why folks don’t seem to talk more about the woman’s right with respect to having sex (in or out of marriage, wrong or right) but not having the right to avoid the consequences of her action, i.e., to abort/kill the consequences of her action.
Anyhow, just a thought. BTW, did you see the new pro Roe v. Wade ad with the swanky, cool guy with a drink celebrating it while he talks seductively to his gal and the audience? How far folks have sunk in their blindness; yet we should not be surprised.
P.S. Like the “fetal rights” sign, too. Wish he had spelled better, though.
Thanks, Mark, for your comment! Yes, it’s amazing what the Scriptures can do when the truths therein move from our heads into our hearts… This is also true for me how ICorinthians 13 -memorized as a child -gradually has permeated my heart … hope one day to really BE that kind of love (not easy, that! especially when people spit in our faces… but love we are meant to do & be even if it means turning the other cheek.)
That does not mean lying down like doormats, especially when there are little ones to speak out for (!) I keep praying (& praying ) for God to transform minds & hearts & fill them with love for the unborn…
Blessings to you, Mark — & grace & peace & prayers – gL : )
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Virginia. We need loving dialogue on all angles of the problem, including making sure that these little lives have food, clothing, love, and a future–i.e. support and care for the mothers who give birth to them. It’s a tough, complex issue, requiring love rather than judgment. Right to life means life for all–even those in prison and especially the innocent people caught in the crosshairs of war. Peace and blessing.
Thank you, Sharron – i do agree that Life is a Gift to be treasured & protected- for those on Death Row, as well as the little ones in formation who can’t speak yet for themselves & especially those in conflict (i have seen many victims in that context, children inclusive)
‘Tis so important, as you said, to support mothers supporting their wee ones. As i shared, my sister (who worked at a crisis pregnancy center) said many secular young ladies were willing to be mothers if they could sort that out — but the very sad issue (to me) girls from strong Christian families were more prone to terminate their pregnancies given a culture of judgement.
one of my dearest friends overseas, a devout Baptist, became pregnant – & after she returned home, i was so blessed to see how her Baptist Church back in England supported her throughout her pregnancy with LOVE – the love of Jesus with helping hands & feet, not judgement !!
Virginia:
So interesting to read of the process you went through letting Scripture sink in. I have had this happen continuously as I have gotten deeper and deeper into the Word. Despite what we or others might like to make of these and other issues, ultimately God makes the rules. Many times that makes other people upset, but so be it. Thanks for your heart in writing this post!
Hi John — ‘Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet & a Light unto my Path’ – The Psalmist said it great(!) …& that’s what makes the Scriptures so very dangerous, like, when we get into the Word & the Word gets into us (does that sound familiar ?? : ) God changes us. Full stop… & it’s kinda a life long process. Scripture ‘knowledge’ moving from our heads deeper into our hearts as we move through valleys & plains & hopefully a few mountain tops along the way…
grace, peace & Scripture groupies – Virginia : )
Love the Psalm and the words from Mother T. I think that is one of the things I really respect about the Catholic Church – that we don’t just tell women not to have abortions – we tell them exactly why not, and work to help the women with unwanted pregnancies. So much pain has resulted from abortions. Thank you.
i also like how the Catholic Church is consistent about LIFE – No to Capital Punishment & No to Abortions (& No to torture et all — the dignity of human beings!) Mother Teresa was not shy about this issue – she spoke it to President Clinton & VP Gore at that National Prayer Breakfast address. Not in a condemning way, but in a ‘let’s do something about this’ way… as we all need to speak up … & pray like she did.
For hearts of stone to change – may they be melted with the love of God for all.
blessings to back in Germany!!!!
Sounds like you had a powerful experience. I respect your opinion.
Thanx Jayme – i know this is such a challenging issue with lots of emotion wrapped around it… respect is a very good thing!