The same day a 'friend' posted a 'story' in her 'status' about a mother discussing an unplanned pregnancy with a doctor. She ends with "Love says I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person." and "Abortion says I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself."
Yes.
And no.
Yes. I believe love often requires great sacrifice. Jesus died for us. There is no greater love.
No. I refuse to believe Christ gave us permission to throw the first stone, to type the ugly words "Abortion says I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself."
And today, tired of the hate-filled rhetoric, I will write the words on my heart. Exhausted, I will pick up a stone.
Since 2008, brave women – four of them – risked sharing with me the pain of living with a secret pregnancy terminated by fear.
Each woman's story is unique
J has spent each anniversary in bed crying until there were no more tears, unable to heal the pain of the day her pregnancy ended. Every Mother's Day T is inwardly devastated as she puts on a smile and celebrates with her children who do not know.
B was so very confident that this was the way, then the instant it was over, she heard satan laughing as she plummeted into darkness, wishing with all that she is that she had let go of her fear and asked a friend to pray.
Fear kept each woman from seeking help from a friend, a sister-in-Christ, from me and from you.
As I imagine being a woman with a secret pregnancy, I feel claustrophobic, trapped, alone. I experience the fear that will keep her from asking a friend for help. I too hear the hateful words, about women who would do THAT. I have seen the billboards.
I know where the 'Christians' stand. I can see the stones coming. I am afraid.
I believe with all my heart, that a woman chooses silence because to tell us she is pregnant is too great a risk. For every person in her life that might help her, satan whispers stories of how we will judge her. Then, to strengthen her belief in his lies, he shows her what we have written on our facebook pages.
We become satan's co-conspirators.
All life is precious. Each child born into this life, each miscarried or aborted fetus, and EVERY mother, is a child precious in God's eyes.
Today, I pick up a stone and make a promise. I will pray, without judgement, for every woman facing a heart-wrenching journey, no matter her circumstances, without regard to her choices. I pray that God will help me keep my promise, because it not going to be easy.
I am already burdened. It is going to be very hard to pray for the woman who chose to post the hateful words that inspired this hateful blog.
Jesus looked at them and said,
“...with God all things are possible.”
Rw
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3 comments:
rw, that was beautifully expressed.
I hate abortion passionately ... not only for the loss of those innocent lives, but also for the depth of suffering it brings to women like your friends, and to men like my friend. He still weeps when he speaks about his only child who was aborted 35+ years ago.
I would want to tell your friends that there are people who pray for them often; not in judgment but with compassion.
I don't know if you've heard of this or if there is one in your area, but you might visit rachelsvineyard.org I've heard wonderful things about it.
In any case, I love that God brought them to you; a safe place to find His love reflected.
This post really provoked a lot of thoughts....
I am with you in your promise... and even I'll pray for every female who are in such conditions..
thank you both for your caring words and prayers. friends at applepcc.org offer free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, prayer and support to both women and men facing the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. it is the most Christ-centered life-affirming place I have ever found. Rw
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