The following is Theresa's entry for this week. I was left encouraged by Theresa's desire to serve God and hear His voice, and appreciate her passion and courage to address this difficult subject.
This week, instead of having a lesson, we used the time to prepare for the Baby Shower we held for Compassion Pregnancy Center.
The topic of LIFE is a passion on mine that started when I was pregnant with my first child. While I knew God valued all life and that life began at conception, it wasn’t until I was pregnant and saw that first flicker of light indicating my child’s heart beat at only a few weeks after conception that the passion I now have for Life started to burn inside of me. It is easy to feel helpless when we hear statistics like the one that points to 52 million lives lost due to abortion since Roe Vs. Wade. It is natural to just want to block out the news on the subject and avoid the heartache and pain that comes with hearing about the horrendous practices of abortion clinics throughout our free country. It is also easy to become so consumed with our everyday challenges and schedules that we don’t even have the time or desire to think about it. I hope I never become complacent on this issue. As moms, I think we know better than any politician or pro-choice activist what a gift a child is and how worthy a fight is the fight for life.
The question now is, how do we go about fighting for life? Do we picket outside abortion clinics or abortionist’s funerals? Do we go to Washington for a repeal of Roe vs. Wade? Do we blow up abortion clinics? As much as our human anger on the issue may make us want to do some of these things, God has made it clear that this is not the way to save lives. We need to start at the root. We need to focus our attention on the ones who are making the choice. Being Christ’s hands and feet to the women facing unexpected pregnancies is going to save more babies than any other action taken by Christians. And I will go as far to say that this will not only save the lives of children, but their mothers as well. It is easy to see only the pain and sorrow behind the death of an innocent baby, but we need to remember that the women who have abortions suffer emotionally, spiritually and often physically as well. When they find out they are pregnant, they are scared and often misinformed. When they need love and support the most, they are abandoned. This is why Compassion Pregnancy Center exists. It is a place where women can come for compassion, help, and true information. The center offers free ultra-sounds, free pregnancy testing, counseling, medical, housing, legal, and social service referrals, prenatal and infant care classes, maternity and baby clothing, furniture and baby equipment, post abortion counseling, abstinence education and future building classes. The women are provided with diapers and clothes through their child’s 2nd birthday and they are encouraged to take the Center’s classes with the incentive to earn points toward other baby items when they do. And might I add, unlike the “family planning” organizations that make money off of abortions as it is, Crisis Pregnancy Centers receive no government assistance. This is why it is so important that we support these organizations!
Three years ago I was pregnant with my first child asking God what I could do to help the unborn. On Saturday with the help of other moms at Stoney Creek Community Church we overflowed three tables with donations of clothes, diapers, toys, books, etc. and raised almost $900 for the center. It may be small in the grand scheme of things, but it is something and many mothers and children will be blessed by it. We are mothers. We are busy being mothers. Let’s not be so busy that we become complacent. We can make a difference and get our kids involved too. To close this review, I want to share the speech I gave at the shower. I hope it touches your heart and gives you the motivation to answer the calling God has for you.
“First, I would like to thank everyone for coming today and thank those who chipped in with food, prizes and helping hands to make this shower happen. I am thankful to be a part of a church that not only supports the callings that God gives its members, but also comes alongside of us when we make a motion to answer that calling.
This past summer an old friend of mine who I had lost touch with over 5 yrs ago found me on facebook. She called me soon after and shared something with me that pained my soul more deeply than anything I think anyone has ever told me. She shared with me how five years ago she found herself pregnant and ended up having an abortion. What she confessed after this was very hard to hear. She told me that she felt she couldn’t talk to me about it at the time because she knew I was Christian. I wished so badly that I could turn back time and be given the opportunity to help her. I wished she hadn’t believed this horrendous lie and that I could have shown her Christ’s love when she needed it most. While it is clear that her decision still haunts her, the words she spoke continue to plague me. What are we as Christians doing to make someone feel this way? I have been praying and asking God this question and this fall He gave me an answer by using a three year old girl and a fence.
This fall we had a fence installed in our backyard. The day it was finished, my daughter ran the perimeter of our yard with her arms spread wide and a huge smile on her face. She was finally free to play without the threat of cars, neighborhood dogs, or overextending her boundaries. My husband and I were free to enjoy conversation on the patio while she played – knowing she was safe within the restrictions the fence created. My husband and I joked about the fact that our fence seemed to be the buzz around the sub as neighbors we knew came by to see it and neighbors we didn’t know stopped to look with envy as they passed by. God showed me that His laws are much like our fence. When we live by them, we are safe and free and when we display the joy we have in that freedom we will draw people to Him. Are we running inside the fence of protection God has set up for us with arms open wide and a big grin on our faces, or are we grasping the bars of the fence with a frown on our faces making the people passing by feel sorry for us instead of envious of us? Even worse, we might come across like a dog that wants out and forces people to the other side of the sidewalk with their menacing barking. I assure you, the yard with that dog will not be the one people run to when they are in trouble. People need to see the freedom, safety and joy that lie inside God’s law if they are to choose to follow it. They also need to see us open our gates to those who have chosen to live outside His shelter when their choices bring them to a place of suffering. God does not call us to punish or judge. He calls us to live so joyously that people will turn their heads from the lies they are being bombarded with and desire to live like us. He calls us to love with such compassion that people will also know without doubt that they can come to us when they are in need.
I am so thankful to Compassion Pregnancy Center for being a hedge of protection for the unborn and their mothers who are facing the toughest obstacle they will ever face. They are also being an open gate to those women who are dealing with a choice they’ve already made. Thank you for supporting this organization. I pray that no one here will ever have to hear someone echo the words my friend said to me this summer. May we be so jubilant within our fence that we create a buzz, and may those around us know our gate is always open when they are in need.”
No comments:
Post a Comment