One thing that’s certain in our world, we are divided on almost every issue. Roe v. Wade’s overturning after 50 years, isn’t an exception. In fact, I’ve been surprised at the outpouring of celebration and hatred among people in the faith community and abroad.
This issue affects people on different levels. From soon-to-be mothers, soon-to-be fathers, family, and hospital staff. Your experience influences how you respond.
Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Even though abortion was once federally protected, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing. Our sense of right and wrong should come from our creator, not the government.
Before you make this life-altering choice, consider my story.
I shouldn’t have existed.
My father was a man in prison, my mother developed a friendship with him through a pen pal program where they would write letters to inmates. Then the day came that my father decided to escape as the inmates were doing a work-release program. He picked up my mother and they crossed state lines.
Running from the police, my mother and father headed south. She was scared. He was taking matters into his own hands. It didn’t last long as they were found by law enforcement.
Stranded in another state, my mother was sick and didn’t know why. Without a way home, she called my grandmother, and through her church, they sent the money for my mother to ride the bus home.
I can only imagine being 18 years old and in that situation. This was the beginning of 1983. Times were different. We didn’t have the internet monitoring our every move. You came into the house when the street lights came on. If you were out, there was no way of contacting you unless you knew where the person was going.
She made it home and when she found out she was pregnant, she would then need to make the choice of keeping the child conceived by someone who evaded the law, put her in harm’s way, and was sent back to prison. This same man would cause her to live her life afraid that he would find us and want to take his son away.
If it were 2022, I could imagine the conversation being something like, “you don’t want a kid by that man. You should get an abortion.” Many women have made this choice for a variety of reasons. They cite reasons like, it’s your body, do what you want.
When I think of this circumstance, I know that with different influences in her life, I shouldn’t be writing this article. There was no reason to keep the child due to the circumstances. She was young and didn’t have a job or the resources to afford to care for a child.
The most significant percentage of people who get abortions are those who are trying to erase a mistake by ending the life of an unborn child. It’s not the child’s fault that you put in the time to bring them to life and then chose to arbitrarily end their life before it even had a chance to begin.
A smaller percentage of women are victims of rape and don’t want to birth a child from the person that raped them.
My point is that every child, no matter how they came to be, has a purpose in the Kingdom of God.
Look at my story, I shouldn’t be here but if you were to look at me today, I have the privilege of helping people. Caring for a congregation and creating content for the world. God’s plan for me was and is more significant than my beginnings.
God created life and gave it meaning. He’s the reason we are all here. We are all created in His image. Take a look at what David said:
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Psalm 139:13-16 NLT
God cares about every hair on our heads and because of that, he certainly cares about each and every child that is created, whether that creation was on purpose or not.
No matter what the circumstance. If you’re considering an abortion, know God has a plan for that child. No matter what the circumstances might be. You need support. People to walk with you through the challenges you have in front of you.
Our friends at Option Line can help. Even if you’ve already had an abortion. Please reach out today.