I was born almost 46 years ago, shortly after the passage of Roe v. Wade to a teen mom who had no job, no family support, no ability to provide for me, and no power to protect me from her harmful environment. Thirteen months later, I was adopted into a loving family who had been waiting and praying for me for over five years. As I look back on my life story as only God could have written it, I am overwhelmed by God's sovereignty, goodness, and love. I would like to encourage you with a few lessons I have learned as an adoptee who was born during an era when crisis pregnancies and adoptions were far less common than they are now.
Your life is sacred. You are an infinitely valuable, good gift from the Lord!
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. (Psalm 127:3)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.(James 1:17)
You are a miracle, not a mistake!
Your parents may not have planned your conception, but your perfect heavenly Father planned every detail of your life and your being long before you were ever conceived. (Psalm 139: 13-16) God has a perfect plan and purpose for your life.
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
God chose the date, time, and place for your birth in accordance with His perfect plan (Psalm 18:30), and His plans are always good (Luke 18:19). He rejoices over you endlessly with love so vast, none can fully comprehend it. (Learn more about God's love for you here.) God fashioned you with all the gifts and abilities you will need to fulfill His wonderful purposes for your life.
You were never abandoned. You are and always have been lavishly loved.
Your birth mother did not give you up because she did not want you. She placed you up for adoption because she loved you more than herself. She chose to give you life even when it was incredibly inconvenient and uncomfortable for her. She endured great physical and emotional pain as she labored to deliver you. Giving you up for adoption was undoubtedly the biggest sacrifice of her life, but she made that sacrifice out of love.
Consider the parable of the talents as described in Matthew 25. While you are worth infinitely more than any of the talents (one talent was worth approximately 20 years of daily wages) the rich man in this parable entrusted to his three servants, you were indeed a gift of immeasurable value entrusted to your birth parents by God Almighty. Your birth mother had to make a choice. She could have buried you as the fearful servant did (except she would have "buried" you via abortion), which may have seemed on the surface to be the safest, easiest option, but the result would have been great loss, weeping, and "gnashing of teeth". Alternatively, she could have chosen to parent you herself. That option would have involved some risk on her part and years of sacrifice, but both of you would have reaped rewards (Proverbs 17:3). That choice would have returned some blessings while sparing your birth mother the agonizing heartache and unknowns of entrusting her precious gift into the arms of strangers, but it would not have provided you with all the opportunities, stability, and nurture you could have received by being raised by both a mother and a father in a stable, loving home. Instead of burying you or taking some risks to give you what little she felt she could provide you, she took the biggest risk of all and made the greatest sacrifice of love possible. Instead of forsaking you or investing her treasure into lower risk, lower yield "bonds", she gave up all the love and joy you could have brought her to give you more than she ever thought she could. She was a faithful steward of God's precious gift.
A mother's love for her child is limitless, powerful, and sacrificial. She gave up her greatest treasure so that you may have the most abundant life possible. Such great love comes not from the flesh, but from God who sent His only Son away from Heaven and down to earth, so that He could dwell with us as both God and man and suffer and die on the cross for all our sins. Her sacrifice was also rooted in faith, for we know that God will never leave or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:8) You are chosen!
When I was in elementary school and kids would tease me or ask me questions about being adopted, I would tell them, "I wasn't abandoned; I was chosen. My parents could have chosen anyone to be their daughter, but they chose me. Your parents didn't have that choice. They were stuck with you." My childish reply may have seemed snarky, and I in no way want to diminish the love any mother has for her child regardless of choice or circumstance, but adopted children are indeed chosen. I had absolutely nothing to offer my adoptive parents except sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and years of hard labor and ongoing expenses. Yet, they chose me as their own. They gave me their name, their identity, their inheritance, their endless devotion, and most importantly, their unconditional love.
The day my parents chose me
Adoption is a beautiful picture of our spiritual adoption in Christ. God chose each of us to become a part of His family even when we were sinners with nothing to offer Him in return. He gave up His own Son to redeem us. He loves us unconditionally and generously provides all we need. He gives us a new identity in Him. When we come to Him in faith, he gives us a new name and an eternal inheritance. Just as I grew to speak, act, and even look more like my adopted parents, God transforms us into His likeness as we abide with Him as His children. (Ephesians 1:3-14) You were never fatherless.
God created you with a yearning that only He can fill, for He desires to have a close, personal relationship with you as your Daddy. He is your perfect, holy, and good Father. His heart's desire is that you will come to Him for peace, comfort, rest, and joy. His arms are open wide waiting for all His children to come to Him as a child confidently approaches his or her earthly father. No matter why your earthly father chose to no longer be a part of your life, you must know that you were never fatherless. God intended for your adoptive father be your earthly daddy all along, but no earthly father can ever compare to God. He will meet your every need, wipe away every tear, and protect you with His omnipotent hands. (Psalm 68:5)
Disclaimer: I realize that each adoption story is unique, and some may be filled with trials and heartaches. Not all adoptions are idyllic. However, we must not believe Satan's lies. The enemy of our souls seeks to impede our walk with Christ and keep us from God's purpose by convincing us that we are unloved, abandoned, or alone, contrary to God's absolute truth. The media prefers to highlight sensational worst case scenarios since those are most profitable for them, but we must not assume such rare, isolated scenarios apply to us. Our individual adoption stories are still unfolding, and God always keeps His promises.
Forty-five years ago today, the United States Supreme Court decided that a woman's right to privacy was more important than an innocent child's right to life. Thankfully, this teenager pictured here, who was carrying me in her womb at the time of the Roe v. Wade ruling, thought differently. She would have gladly lain down her own life to save mine.
Her mother abused her (and then me); her father rejected us; my birth father abandoned us; and the corrupt United Way sponsored maternity home deceived and mistreated her. The road for her was never easy, but He sustained, protected, nurtured, strengthened, comforted, provided, healed, and restored us both in supernatural ways that proclaim His marvelous sovereignty, goodness, and love.
Not only did she choose life for me, but she also chose to take the biggest risk of her life to selflessly give me the very best life imaginable. She entrusted me into the hands of Abba Father who then placed me into the perfect family for me, just as He had planned since the beginning. My precious parents had been waiting for a daughter for over five years. Did you know that there are at least 36 families waiting to adopt for every one child that is placed for adoption? So many families are waiting, yet Planned Parenthood, which claims to be "pro-choice", tells their clients/victims that killing the baby is a woman's only choice. They never present adoption as a loving option. Yet, in my birth mother's case and so many others', adoption is without a doubt the most loving option.
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30) instructs us not to bury our treasure or invest it in only a little. God calls us to invest the gifts He entrusts us with in that which requires the most faith but yields the greatest returns. I am eternally grateful for the unconditional love poured out and for the huge sacrifices made by both my birth mom and my parents for me which yielded the greatest rewards. Such love testifies that life is sacred, for all life and love come from the God who never errs.
But as amazing as all that is to me, it is still just a tiny glimmer of the radiant love God has for each of us. God also gave up His child, His only Son, not to give Him a better life, but to save all mankind. God loves us so much He sent His only Son to take upon Himself the sins of all mankind so He could fully pay the penalty our sins deserve in our place, so that we could be justified, redeemed, restored, and made new.
He desires a deeply personal relationship with each of us. So He made a way to adopt each one of us into His family forever. Just as I now have a new name, a new identity, a new resemblance, and a new inheritance through adoption into my earthly family, God offers infinitely more to those who choose to be adopted as His very own children. As we grow in our relationship with Him and in our love for Him, we will begin to resemble Him. As His children, we take on a new name, beloved child of the King of Kings. In Him, we get to partake of all that He is. The Lord God is perfect and infinite in love, joy, peace, patience, knowledge, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, truth, grace, hope, justice, forgiveness, and mercy. To choose Him is to choose life. To choose anything else is to choose death, darkness, and eternal separation from Him and from all that He is.
“…You will
know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(John 8:32)
This verse and the accompanying
exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8:31-36 hold the keys to a fruitful,
liberated Christian life that goes deep where the richest blessings flow. (Luke
5:4-11, Genesis 49:25)We must know and
receive in faith God’s truth, which is His word (Psalm 119:60, John 17:17) and
Christ His Son (John 1:14, 14:6), to be set free from sin and death.
The most essential
truth that sets us free forever is the gospel of Christ. (Romans 5:8-9)By perfectly fulfilling the law as
our spotless Lamb, bearing all our sins on the cross, conquering death and rising
again, Jesus set us free from sin, condemnation, guilt, death, and separation
from God. We are justified and made righteous by Christ. (Romans 3:21-26, 2
Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 1:18)We are set free
from Satan’s false accusations and from false guilt by the truth that there is
no condemnation for those in Christ. (Romans 8:1)This truth is too powerful and wonderful to
keep to ourselves, so Christ’s final command to His followers before His
ascension was to go and proclaim this gospel truth to the whole world. (Mark
16:15)
God’s truth gives
wisdom and discernment, which free us from Satan’s lies and from sinful
strongholds in disguise, such as unholy fears masquerading as loving concern. He
provides all we need, freeing us from worry. (Matthew 6:25-34).When we or our loved ones suddenly face
unemployment or unexpected financial burdens, these truths free us from anxiety.
We can receive perfect peace by bringing our concerns to Him in prayer. (Philippians
4:6-7)
His truth
removes the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25), which liberates us to live for Him so
that others may hear the truth and find freedom too.His truth emboldens us to stand up for truth
and righteousness against opposition because His power is greater than the
power of this world. (1 John 4:4) We can rejoice under trials because His rewards
far surpass any earthly suffering. (Matthew 5:10-12, 2 Corinthians 4:9)
God’s truth frees us from fear of
the future. While tomorrow may seem uncertain, God knows what each day brings,
and His word tells us how this story ends.We will face battles, but Christ wins the war.Through it all, He will strengthen, help,
uphold, and deliver us. (Isaiah 41:10, Psalms 34:4) As co-heirs with Christ
(Romans 8:17), our eternal inheritance is secure.Our citizenship is in Heaven! (Philippians
3:20, John 14:2-3) We are overcomers and more than conquerors through Christ
(Romans 8:37, 1 John 5:4). So when tragedy comes and loved ones pass, when we
battle infertility or scary medical diagnoses, or when elections do not go our
way, the truth gives certain hope. We may be grieved and afflicted but not crushed;
we may be perplexed, but are free from despair. (2 Corinthians 4:8) God is
sovereign over all. He appoints leaders according to His perfect plan. He
allows suffering to strengthen and refine us and to serve His greater purposes,
but He never abandons us. (Romans 13: 1-7) He is all-powerful, faithful, loving,
and good. His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Whether we
live or die, we are the Lord’s and He goes with us. He has removed the sting of
death and obtained the victory. His eternal truth casts out fear. (Psalm 23:4,
Romans 14:7-9)
God’s truth frees us from low
self-esteem and identity crises.His
word teaches us who and whose we are and shows us our infinite value and eternal
purpose. No one knows us like the One who knew us and predestined us before He even
made us! (Jeremiah 1:5)The opinions of
others are fickle, but God’s truth never changes. By clinging to His truth and
finding our identity in Him, we are set freefrom all the drama, emotional
turmoil, people pleasing (Galatians 1:10, Isaiah 2:22), moral compromising, and
ceaseless striving that accompany identity confusion.Instead of drawing attention to ourselves for
validation through the praises of men (whether by immodest dress,
grandstanding, suggestive or obnoxious behavior, or perpetual performing), we
are free to live authentically, fulfilling God’s purpose for us with confident
assurance.
When we understand our identity and worth, we are set free from feeling offended
by different opinions or by personal attacks.When others have hurled angry insults at me and falsely slandered me, I
have found their words do not hurt me when I stand on God’s truth.My identity is in Christ, not the opinions of
others. No one has the authority to define me but God, so nothing anyone says
to me or about me can ever change who I am or diminish my value. Angry hurtful
words reveal the contents of the slanderer’s heart, not mine. The truth will
become obvious soon enough.(Numbers
32:23)
God’s truth also defines our
position.Our greatest deeds are as
filthy rags compared to His holy standard. (Isaiah 64:6)Before Christ changed us, we were children of
wrath, enslaved to sinful desires, spiritually dead, and without hope. It is
only by His grace that we are saved, not by works, so no one can boast.
(Ephesians 2).Apart from Him, we can do
nothing. (John
15:5)This
truth frees us from pride, self-absorption, and self-reliance.
As we grow in our understanding of
who we are, who others are, and who God is, we are set free from prejudice and
hate, for how can we say we love God (who is love) and hate those who He made
in His image for His glory. (1 John 4:8
) Prejudice assumes superiority over
another, but God’s truth shatters any preconceived notions of our own
self-importance.When we know and
experience God’s love and forgiveness, we are set free to love and forgive
others. (John 13:34-35, John 15:12, Colossians 3:13)
When we find our value in His truth
that never changes, we are set free from feelings of rejection or
abandonment.I was adopted into a loving
home in the early 1970s when adoptions were closed and less common. During my
childhood, kids would ask me, “Why didn’t your mother want you?”Back then, I didn’t know why she placed me
for adoption, but I did know that my adoptive parents had selected me as their
own.They had loved me wholeheartedly, unconditionally,
and sacrificially.While some kids felt
sorry for me, I considered myself doubly blessed because I had not only be
accepted, but also chosen. My birth parents’ feelings toward me seemed irrelevant
because I was with the family God had intended from the beginning.That truth was so freeing for me as a little
girl and helped me better understand God’s unconditional love for me as His
adopted daughter. (1 Peter 2:9)
When I was in college, my birth
mother hired a detective to find me. She was desperate to know if I had been
adopted into a safe, loving home or into an abusive home like the one she had released
me from by placing me for adoption.Meanwhile,
I had begun praying for my birth mother after hearing a sermon that stirred my
heart to love and serve women in crisis pregnancy situations. When my birth
mother first contacted me out-of-the-blue on March 27, 1995, I had just read these
words from the March 27 entry of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest:
“God
has to hide from us what He does until by personal character we get to the
place where He can reveal it”.
I was no longer afraid to meet her because
my identity was secure in Christ. I was ready to meet her because the truth of
my position before Christ had just crushed the spiritual pride growing in m. So
when she called, I calmly (rare for me) told her I had just been praying for
her and asked her if she knew Jesus as Savior. The truth of my idyllic childhood,
loving family, and God’s sovereignty revealed in my life, set her free from the
fears that had haunted her.Over the
years, I watched God’s truth set her free in so many different areas of life
just as His truth was transforming me. (We later discovered that she was
baptized in another church the same day our daughter was baptized at Providence,
which is fitting since God’s truth declares His providence!)
The power of God’s truth to set
people free is like a beautiful domino toppling display with exponential limits.
Will we be faithful to start the toppling of strongholds by learning, believing,
and applying His truth in every area of our lives and by sharing it with others?
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John
8:36)
God’s word
gives wisdom; it opens our eyes,
And helps us discern truth from Satan’s lies.
It frees us from sin's strongholds in disguise
And offers salvation from our sins' demise
Through the love of Jesus, Heaven's glorious prize.
Since
I should treat men and women equally, and I've already addressed
pro-choice women enough with my opinions and God's word, I'd like to
address the pro-choice men. Specifically I want to address the men who
support abortion on demand (and federal funding of it) because they
claim they do not know what it feels like to be a woman and thus cannot
tell women what to do. I truly appreciate your desire to be empathetic
instead of domineering, but there are many who would consider your defense a cowardly one. Do you support a terrorist's choice to slaughter children with
machetes because you do not know what it feels like to be indoctrinated
by radical Islam? Moral relativism is a farce. Killing children for personal convenience or by order from ISIS is
wrong, and you know it. You just won't risk being politically incorrect
or offending someone to stand up for what is right.
Abortion may remove what you see on the outside as a consequence of
irresponsible choices (whether consensual or not), but it does not
remove the consequence. If you think you can partake in risky behaviors
because she can always just get rid of "it", then you will keep playing
with fire, while continuing further in your degradation of women.
Abortion takes a human life and leaves lasting physical and emotional
scars that you may not see but which are far worse than any pregnancy
and delivery could be. Consequences can be very good teachers and can
provide a dramatic improvement in the treatment of women....if only men
would stop covering up those consequences and allow themselves to truly
SEE them.
If you truly
want to be empathetic and supportive of women while fighting for their
rights and opposing violence against women, here are a few practical
ideas:
Don't get women in crisis pregnancy situations in the
first place. Take responsibility for your own actions and treat women
with respect. When you mess up, don't run and hide from the problem you
created. Support her. Do not ever force her to get an abortion.
Do not be impressed by "locker room talk". If another guy brags of
his conquest over a woman, rebuke him. Be a righteous example, and call
the men in your realm of influence to a higher standard.
Support women in abusive or crisis pregnancy situations. Honor them.
Pray for them. Provide for them. Bring them to Christ-centered
ministries where they will be loved and cared for unconditionally while
getting all their needs (physical and emotional) met in a way that is
honest and pure.
Stop using pornography and join the fight
against it. Pornography is the largest industry in the world and the
greatest contributor to both objectification of women and physical
crimes against them. Rape, violence, and human trafficking are almost
always rooted in an addiction to porn.
Support local crisis pregnancy centers, faith based maternity homes, and homes for battered women with your money and/or time and skills. Handyman work is always needed as are board members, fundraising directors, counselors, mentors for men involved, prenatal care providers, sonogram techs, life skills trainers, house parents, etc.
Contact your elected officials and demand that they support legislation
that values all human life, male and female, from the womb to the tomb.
Foster and/or adopt.
Volunteer as a Guardian ad Litem.
To the men who are already doing any of these
suggestions or who support women in other life affirming ways, I salute
you. As one born the same year as the Roe V. Wade decision as a result of an unplanned pregnancy. I thank you. I hope our nation's children are learning what true, compassionate and courageous manhood looks like by watching you.
11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? (Proverbs 24:11-12, NIV)
I wept (rare for me) when this dear woman, Norma McCorvey (aka "Jane
Roe") came to one of our Bible study meetings and shared her testimony, which included not only her involvement in the Roe v. Wade case but also the way Jesus transformed her heart and life. She has been fighting against abortion ever since. (Read her 2015 court testimony here.)
Young, alone, homeless, addicted to drugs, and having no true understanding of what
abortion is or does to a human life, she came to the attorneys in this
case for help. Instead, they deceived and manipulated her into serving
their own purposes.
In the same manner, desperate women come to
abortion centers looking for guidance, hope, and positive solutions,
but instead they are told the same lies Norma heard and given no other
options, no support, and no hope. The abortion workers are more than
happy to take their money, though. These women are treated as pawns in
the abortion industry's profitable game.
While there are certainly plenty of individual cases of horrific abuse
against women by men, and I'm all for eliminating all forms of violence
against women and trafficking of women (eradicating porn is the first
place to start), U.S. laws provide much greater privileges and
protections to women than to men. It is not so much a system problem as
it is a lack of common morality and mutual respect by both genders. In
many cases, women are merely victims of their own choices. (For example,
if you choose to get a Ph.D. in women's studies, and an equally gifted
male gets an M.D. in orthopedic medicine, the guy will make more money.
Of, if you choose to wear a vagina body suit, both men and women will
look at what is wrapped around your body without noticing your face or
brain at first glance, and it will totally be your own fault. If
feminists continually berate, demean, emasculate, and dehumanize men as
is so common on sitcoms I hear, then they should not be surprised when
men leave them or start acting like jerks or as someone less than
human.)
Norma McCorvey, and all the vulnerable women like her who
visit Planned Parenthood centers around the world, and the children
they carry in their wombs are legitimate victims, and Planned Parenthood
is their abuser. So as a woman who values the rights and lives of all
women, I will speak out against Planned Parenthood and celebrate when
our government redirects funding away from PPF to legitimate public
women's health providers. I will continue to give of my time and money
to pregnancy life care centers and to the Christian maternity homes where
women receive authentic love, valuable support, comprehensive education,
effective counseling, material provisions, and lots of hope and
encouragement without taking a penny from these women in crisis.
Learn more about Norma McCorvey and read seven powerful quotes by her here.
As described in the previous post, the purpose of this blog series is to debunk the myth that pro-life Christians only care about the unborn and not the born while looking for ways to bring both sides of the abortion issue together to provide better services for more people. This post will examine various approaches for caring for women on both sides of the abortion issue and show how pro-life Christians extend love to women in crisis pregnancy situations in ways that help women not just during their crisis but for the rest of their lives.
When a woman suspects she could be pregnant and that pregnancy is considered a crisis for her, she will typically seek help from any of the following:
1) Her doctor
2) A government funded, free or low-cost health care clinic
3) Planned Parenthood
4) A faith-based pregnancy life care center
Given that Obamacare was supposed to provide health insurance for everyone, including those who cannot afford it, any woman should have access to comprehensive health care during crisis pregnancy situations. She may visit her general practitioner or gynecologist, or she may seek out free or reduced cost health care clinics such as those listed at www.womenshealth.gov. Non-profit clinics supported by generous donors instead of government grants have more flexibility to manage operations in ways that most effectively meet the needs of their clients. The Neighborhood Christian Clinic is a full service health care facility that has been serving as a role model for other facilities around the country. Alliance Defending Freedom developed the map below to show the locations of over 13,540 clinics providing comprehensive health care for women.
The most popular women's resource among pro-choice advocates is Planned Parenthood. As favors continue to be bought and sold between Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the Obama administration and the Clinton Foundation, government funding of Planned Parenthood has been increasing. For example, government funding increased from 33% in 2009 to 46.5% in 2010, which equated to $1.3 million per day, according to STOPP research's analysis of Planned Parenthood's annual reports. Even some pro-life voters support government funding of Planned Parenthood since the organization provides sex education, birth control, pap smears and other cancer screenings (but not mammograms), and STD testing. They believe Planned Parenthood's prevention services are reducing abortion rates, but PPFA's business model actually provides incentives for increasing in the number of abortions provided.
These abortion revenues are a key concern for pro-life Christians, not
simply because abortion destroys sacred, innocent, defenseless human life, but because these revenues motivate PPFA
to increase abortion revenue through methods that are deceptive,
manipulative, unloving, and cruel. As an example, reference this previous blog post. It explains one strategy International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) uses for increasing number of abortions. IPPF reaches out to children as young as 9 years old with pamphlets that encourage adolescents and teens to engage in risky sexual activity while IPPF actively
opposes legislation requiring parental consent. PPFA provides low quality contraception while assuring clients their products will make sex safe. (PPFA's condoms were determined to be the lowest quality out of 23 brands Consumer Reports tested for effectiveness.) The truth is that unmarried sex is never safe. Many of
these methods put women and children at risk of great physical,
psychological, and emotional harm while mistreating, misleading, and
dehumanizing women. Women in crisis first and foremost need loving compassion
and comprehensive counseling, not pressure to immediately have an abortion.
Planned Parenthood advocates insist the organization helps women by preventing unplanned pregnancy and thereby decreasing abortion rates, but a closer look reveals the opposite.
The following video shows how Planned Parenthood has increased the number of abortions it provides and continues increasing its overall market share in the abortion industry.
Personal testimonies and undercover videos expose the fact that Planned Parenthood workers force women into choosing abortion. When women ask about other options, PPFA workers insist that abortion is really their only option. Clients are not informed of all the short term and long term risks of abortion, nor are they made aware of the long term benefits and resources available to support women who would prefer to carry their babies to term. Testimonies supporting these claims from women who were pressured by Planned Parenthood to have an abortion can be found here, here, and here. If a woman's right to choose is PPFA's platform and battle cry, then shouldn't they give women more than one option so women can actually have a choice?
The ideal first point of contact for women in crisis is a faith-based pregnancy life
care center. With 5-years of experience as a volunteer for centers under the Care Net umbrella, I have seen first-hand the life changing impact these centers are having on the lives of women. I will primarily share about Care Net programs and services, but women have plenty of other wonderful faith based options as well such as Life Call or Birthline/Lifeline Pregnancy Centers. Click on these links to find a center near you. These centers are unique in that unlike Planned Parenthood and all the secular and/or government funded options, these centers provide what women need first and foremost in the midst of a pregnancy crisis, and they offer all their services FREE OF CHARGE! These centers collectively provide all of the services below, but any center should provide most of them.
Spiritual, emotional, and relationship counseling
Free pregnancy testing
Options
counseling, including comprehensive information on parenting (including
adoption), as well as information on abortion procedures and risks
STD/STI testing and information
Limited obstetrical ultrasound services
Bible study classes
Support groups and peer counseling
Material assistance, including diapers, maternity clothes, strollers, cribs, car seats, baby food, formula, baby apparel, layettes, and more
Job and housing assistance and referrals
Additional community referral
Prenatal care referrals
Childbirth, life skills, prenatal child care, homemaking education
Tutoring and support in obtaining a G.E.D. or opportunities to enroll in college classes
Adoption referrals
Parenting Classes
Fertility Awareness Education
24-Hour Support Hotline
Shelters and/or maternity home placement referrals
Abortion recovery programs
The decision to abort, parent, or adopt will impact a woman for the rest
of her life. Since this decision is so important, it is imperative that
the mother not make the decision hastily or in a state of panic,
desperation, anxiety, fear, or desperation, lest regret haunt her for decades. To make a wise decision a
woman needs all the facts about all her options, but she also needs to know the absolute truths about her sacred identity and her infinite worth. Far too many women find themselves in a crisis pregnancy situation because they went looking for love, affirmation, and acceptance in all the wrong places. We look for opportunities to show these women how much God loves them and to share with them His perfect plan for their lives while actively demonstrating that love in the ways we care for them. Our first priority when a client comes into our office (which typically looks and feels more like a warm and inviting home instead of cold clinic surrounded by barbed wire fence as was the case for the abortion clinic next door to the women's center where I volunteered) is to listen and comfort her spirit. While licensed nurses perform ultrasounds or conduct pregnancy and/or STD tests, we empathize with these women while offering them support and encouragement. We listen to their many questions, and answer objectively, laying out all the options while noting the pros and cons for each one.
While Planned Parenthood's abortion quotas result in high pressure tactics to push as many women through the abortion mill as fast as possible with counseling sessions that present abortion as the only reasonable option, staff at these pregnancy life care centers are open and honest about each scenario. They exude peace and calm to quiet the client's anxious spirit so she can think more clearly through her options.
While the hope is each woman will choose not to abort, we respect her decision without judgment, remind her that we are always here for her, and invite her back to join one of our abortion recovery programs if needed. We build relationships with women and follow-up with them, if they give us permission, to make sure their needs are met and to continue offering support and services as needed. We serve these women knowing that our job is to love these women unconditionally as Christ loves the church. While it may be our desire to save her baby, only God has the power to direct a woman's heart, so we leave that responsibility to Him. When the primary goal is to love like Jesus without any pressure to accomplish what only God can do or to meet quotas, women always benefit, regardless of what option they choose.
These centers are entirely funded by faith filled donors and primarily staffed by community volunteers who have completed extensive background checks and rigorous training. A key value communicated through each training session and upheld daily
in the clinics is that the mothers are our primary concern. This is not
to say that we do not care about the baby, but just as flight
attendants instruct parents to put the oxygen mask on themselves first
before putting a mask on their children, we minister to the mother's
needs first with the hope of saving both the mother and the child from
heartache and/or devastation.
The Board of Directors for each facility or community network are comprised of like-minded community leaders who volunteer their time to guide ministry staff and volunteers, hold directors and office managers accountable to the core values and vision, and make strategic decisions to ensure the centers are effectively meeting needs and serving women with the love of Christ. By avoiding the corrupting influences of government money and control and eliminating the pressure of quotas or monetary incentives, these centers can focus instead on delivering the highest level of service for their clients motivated out of a sincere and unconditional love for hurting women.
I have also had the privilege of volunteering as a buddy and as an adoption educator for a faith based maternity home, which receives referrals from faith based pregnancy life care centers, and ministry partners and friends. These maternity homes provide loving nurture and room and board to women in unplanned pregnancy situations who choose to carry their babies to term. Typically, up to eight women will live in a large home at a time with a married couples serving as house parents who lead the clients as if they are all part of a family. Family meals, evening devotions, basic chores to teach personal responsibility, life skills training, birth classes, parenting and adoption classes, counseling, medical needs, and mentoring are all included. These homes provide an oasis for women where they can process through all their thoughts and feelings while separated from negative influences or competing voices, make decisions regarding parenting or adoption, reset the direction for their lives, set goals, and establish a plan for pursing a healthy, productive, fulfilling life.
To be pro-life is to love women unconditionally, intentionally, sacrificially, and wholeheartedly. The DNC's support of Planned Parenthood does the opposite by deceiving, manipulating, and abusing women for selfish financial gain. The corruption found throughout Planned Parenthood is like leaven in that it will only increase causing more women and children to suffer. Gosnell's crimes against women and children seemed extreme, but he wasn't an isolated case as numerous women have testified, and similar stories will continue to surface as liberal, abortion minded-Supreme Court Justices knock down legislation designed to make abortion facilities safer for women. As federal funding enables Planned Parenthood to expand its operations, women will be more likely to turn to PPFA first instead of to more ethical, loving, helpful alternatives. For these reasons, conservative pro-life Christians are voting against the DNC in favor of party platforms that support defunding Planned Parenthood.
As a compromise between the two sides, money currently given to Planned Parenthood could be redirected to more trustworthy comprehensive healthcare centers that do not profit by performing abortions or by receiving kickbacks for abortion referrals. The video below counters Planned Parenthood's outrageous and deceptive argument against this proposal.
These healthcare centers should be measured by how well they treat patients with incentives for reducing abortion and disease as opposed to PPFA's incentive plan which seeks to provide more abortions. Contraception could be provided by these centers but in a way that respects religious liberty. Clients should be educated enough to understand how to use contraceptives correctly, typical failure rates, health risks, and how contraceptives work so that clients can make informed decisions consistent with their religious beliefs. For example, those who believe life begins at conception would need to know enough to avoid the IUD, the pill, ring, and other hormone methods that prevent implantation. While there would still be plenty of doctors who would be willing to perform abortions, doctors should not be forced to perform abortions against their religious convictions and against the original Hippocratic Oath they swore to uphold.
The next installment will debunk the myth that conservative pro-life Christians care more about the unborn than people of various ages, stages, races, genders, abilities and special needs. It will present the big picture perspective used by compassionate pro-life Christians to provide the most meaningful, loving, long term care, support, and benefit for the most people in a more ethical manner than the DNC's quick fix, band-aid proposals.
With Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (HRC) as the major party candidates for the 2016 U.S. presidential race, American voters are facing a major moral dilemma. Both candidates have shown themselves to be arrogant, brash, deceitful, and self-serving. Neither adequately reflects the values of his or her party. With Trump's past support of both Democratic candidates and liberal social issues, he seems more like the Democrats' choice for the Republican nominee than the Republican's choice, effected primarily through media steering and crossover voters. Conservative Republicans especially oppose him. He has an erratic history on abortion issues, but he now claims to stand with his party's pro-life platform. Yet, the disrespectful and crude comments he has made toward women, those with disabilities, Muslims, and illegal immigrants are making it difficult for compassionate, pro-life people of faith to vote for him with a clean conscious.
While Trump leans to the left of the Republican party platform, HRC leans to the left of the Democratic party, reflecting the anti-Christian, socialistic, "ends justify any means" ideals of her mentor, Saul Alinsky. Guided by Alinsky's book, Rules for Radicals, HRC's history of corruption exceeds any elected official before her, at least in the past century, although her husband's scandal list is certainly long enough. Lies, scandals (22 biggest HRC scandals described here), and corruption have been the most consistent traits of her entire career. In just the past few weeks, evidence has been brought forth to prove "pay for play" abuses of power as Secretary of State, high stakes bribery and fraud in the way she used the Clinton Foundation to accept large donations from American enemies with deplorable human rights practices and even 96% of her own charitable contributions (tax evasion) under the ruse of charity when almost all of the contributions were pocketed by her nuclear family, multiple counts of felony and perjury regarding her email scandals (full testimony here) putting every American at risk (at least one spy has already been killed). Recent HRC email releases by WikiLeaks prove that she led the effort to arm ISIS groups in Syria, and lied about it repeatedly under oath even while letting four American patriots die in Benghazi to cover her misdeeds. Yet, justice has not and will not be meted against her because her corruption is so vast that those with the power to prosecute her refuse. Or perhaps she's just employing Alinsky's first rule. Whatever the case, it's working to her favor.
“Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, Rule #1
Meanwhile, petty officers like First Class Kristian Saucier who committed much lesser crimes with no impact on national security and no impact on anyone's life whatsoever, are facing jail time. Imagine how someone with such a heart of corruption will manage national security and utilize taxpayer dollars as POTUS.
Clearly, both candidates leave a bitter taste in the mouths of voters. The two third party candidates are drawing more support than usual, but both are social liberals and pro-choice providing no good compromise for pro-life voters. Evan McMullin, just entered the race as a pro-life (from womb to tomb) independent candidate, but he entered the race so late, he may not even be on the ballot in some states.
Recently, there has been a push by self-described pro-life or "pro-lives" voters such as Rachel Held Evans to justify a vote for Hillary Clinton by upholding what they consider to be a more enlightened definition of the term "pro-life". (View rebuttal to Rachel Held Evans' post from a Christian perspective here). Their definition is no different from what "pro-life" has always meant, at least to committed Christians, except for one tragic difference. They emphasize government support or aid programs that support life after birth as being more pro-life than simply opposing abortion itself. For liberal leaning pro-lifers, it is not just morally acceptable, but morally superior to support a candidate and party who are vehement activists for abortion at any stage, for any reason, and with taxpayer funding if that candidate has at any time in her life helped promote aid programs they like or need. While I have no desire to discredit these programs which may very well be valuable, necessary, and effective (although efficiency, cost effectiveness, and sincere love or compassion are usually lacking when the government gets involved), I do want to point out that the key difference between this liberal view and that of more conservative pro-life voters is that they see these social programs as offsetting the crime of abortion which brutally and painfully dismembers the most vulnerable members of society.
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
This perspective says, "I can still be pro-life and vote for a corrupt pro-choice candidate if that candidate has ever been involved in social programs that matter to me or to those I love or empathize with most."
"And [Jesus] said to them, 'You are
those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For
what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.' " (Luke 16:15)
Unfortunately, those social programs, no matter how wonderful they may be, were not the primary issues touted at the DNC Convention. Making on-demand abortions at any stage of pregnancy convenient and available to all women in the US and abroad is the primary focus of the DNC, beginning with the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, as emphasized during the first day of the DNC convention. The first day of the Democratic Convention seemed less like an American political rally and more like a sacrificial worship celebration honoring Molech in which speakers and attendees celebrated the fact that they threw their babies into the fire (aka "aborted" them) in worship of the pagan god with the hope that the god would give them what they wanted, personal, short-term convenience.
"You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 18:21)
An Aside: Do the Unborn Have Rights? HRC claimed that the "unborn person doesn't have any Constitutional Rights"
according to Roe V. Wade, but the constitutionality of the Roe V. Wade verdict continues to be highly controversial. Roe V. Wade uses an
implied right to privacy not specifically enumerated in the Constitution (the 9th amendment refers these rights to the states and the people) but expressed in precedent cases to override the most fundamental and
most valued human right upheld by people around the world throughout
history, the right to life. The Roe V. Wade verdict claimed that a
woman's dominion over her body gives her the right to abort while
contradicting the 9th and 10th Amendments and in some respects the 14th
Amendment. The Court denied the personhood of the fetus as a way of
getting around the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause.
However, medical advancements and ultrasound technology have removed
the question of personhood from the debate. Hillary admitted the
unborn's personhood with this statement quoted above, but in so doing,
she denied equal rights for all persons. HRC admitted the humanity of the unborn while insisting the right of the mother to choose is more important
than the right of the baby in her womb to live. This perspective
implies that the value of each individual life is relative such that
some lives are more or less valuable than others. This eugenics mindset
is a recurring theme in liberal policy just as it was the primary point
of advocacy for Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood who was highly praised by Hillary Clinton.
The
rights of the unborn are still affirmed by English common law, fetal homicide
statutes, Embryonic Law, and the ultimate authority on the law for Christians, God's word. (Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5)
Even though Hillary Clinton's abuses of power are unmatched and despite having a lengthy history of corruption, deceit, fraud, bribery, scandals, treason, and perjury, people still support her. She has connections to dozens of people (or possibly over a 100) who mysteriously died after becoming involved in efforts to expose her, but people still praise her. And despite her extreme abortion activism, some pro-life voters still endorse her because they believe short term social programs, especially those they believe will reduce abortion rates, offset efforts to expand an industry that already kills a million babies a year. This belief that they are taking the moral high ground is rooted in the assumption that pro-life conservatives are anti-abortion only and do not show equal concern for women or for any minority or marginalized people after they are born. This perception that "pro-life" only means "anti-abortion" has been largely circulated by the left-leaning media, but the notion is false. Compassionate, conservative Christians are not pro-life because they are anti-abortion. They are anti-abortion because they are pro-life.We are for all life, regardless of race, ethnicity, sin struggle, economic status, age, or ability, and the goal of this blog series is to prove it! Unlike the progressive eugenicists, we view all human life as equally valuable. We treasure both children and elders as gifts from the Lord. We do not rank life on a worthiness scale, for we recognize that each and every life has been fearfully and wonderfully created (Psalm 139:14) for a perfect, divine purpose (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11). We are not just for life itself; we strive to equip and lead all people to a joyous, abundant life.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)
While my disgust with HRC should already be obvious, I am not strongly for any candidate; hence, my moral dilemma. But I will oppose senseless murdering of innocent children until the day I die, not just for their sake but for the sake of the living, for how we regard the most vulnerable lives within our ability to protect them directly impacts how we value all life.
This blog series is not seeking to create more political division, for America is certainly divided enough already. The BBC and Pew Research Center described American politics as "more
like 'alien tribes' than rival parties....because hyper-partisan news
and social media enables them to live in ideological isolation - they
don't even have to try to understand it." In the interest of bringing more understanding, I intend to counter this false assumption by describing the full meaning of "pro-life" from the perspective of those who are first and foremost Christians. Biblical truth and personal encounters with God lead people like me to a more conservative political approach toward pro-life issues, but we are Christians first. I hope that by showing how pro-life, conservative Christians care for mothers, families, children, elderly, minorities, and the oppressed, we can begin crossing political boundaries and working together to provide better solutions for more people instead of wasting time and energy bickering. (I realize this goal could prove difficult if HRC continues following Alinsky's model, for he insisted that all life is partisan, but I'm trusting not all HRC supporters feel the same way.)
In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I am all of the following:
a committed follower of Christ for over 35 years
a devoted wife to one man for life through the Christian marriage covenant
a busy mother of active young children
a former volunteer at various crisis pregnancy centers
a former volunteer and current "as-needed" adoption presenter for a faith based maternity home for women in crisis who choose not to abort
the product of an unplanned pregnancy that occurred during Roe V. Wade deliberations who was born too late for legal abortion had that been a consideration
a former orphan who lived in a foster home
an adoptee via closed adoption with a personal testimony that screams of God's goodness, grace, and sovereignty
My life experiences have shaped my opinions just as every person's unique life experiences shape theirs. I have done lots of research, however, and I will do my best to support my points with accurate data, verified testimonies, and reliable video footage. I hope that by sharing this data and personal testimony, areas of mutual agreement can be found to curb political division and to establish more loving options, services, and support not just for mothers in crisis, but for all who suffer from the same types of trauma, heartache, and desperation which are often rooted in the same unmet need for unconditional love, acceptance, and the absolute truths which are uniquely fitted to fill the deepest longings of the heart and soul.
The next installment will look at loving ways pro-life Christians are addressing those deepest needs to prevent unplanned pregnancy and to support women in crisis both in their current situation and for the long-term.
"But
since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in
heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to
face.”
(1 Thessalonians 2:17)
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul described his desperate
desire to be with them, but circumstances outside of his control kept hindering
him. As Beth Moore explained in her study guide, Children of the Day, the
Greek word translated "we were torn away from you" in 1 Thessalonians
2:17 (ESV) is "aporphanizomai"
(which contains our English word "orphan"). The term connotes a ripping
apart or forced separation.
We commonly think of orphans being abandoned or unwanted, but that is not
always the case. Placing a child for adoption is often a heart wrenching, loving
sacrifice that places the best interests of the child before the parents’ who
face difficult circumstances. Just as Paul wrote, “in person, not in heart”, the
mother may no longer physically be with the child, but that child is always
with her in heart. Such has been my experience as God delivered me into a
loving adoptive family whom I love with fierce devotion. Yet, God still allowed
love, not bitterness, to grow in my heart for the birth mother I could not
remember. When she, endeavored more eagerly to see me again, she hired a
detective to find me.When we met in
person 21 years later, it was like reconnecting with someone I had known all
along, for love had connected us all those years.
My experience is not unique and is only a poor reflection of a much more
glorious reunion. Father God created mankind to be in close relationship with
Him.He is Jehovah Jireh who gives us
all we need and fulfills our heart’s desire.So, our separation from Him is nothing like that of a birth mother
placing her child for adoption.He first
chose us, but we chose instead to tear ourselves away from Him and His perfect
provision, chasing after the world’s counterfeits and our selfish desires instead.
While separated from us, He remarkably still longed for us, refusing to leave
us as orphans. (John 14:18)
4 even as he
chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
blameless before him. In love5 he
predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.. (Ephesians
1:4-5a)
While Paul “endeavored… eagerly…with great desire to see”
the Thessalonians, and my birth mother went to great effort to find and meet me,
God longed infinitely more to be with the people He created for fellowship with
Him. His desire was so great that He gave up His only Son on the cross,
forsaking Him (Mark 15:34) for our sake. At that moment of separation, “the
curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:38).It was the ultimate ripping apart, Christ
from His Father, so that the barrier between God and man could be severed.The separation was brief, however, for Jesus
rose from the dead, conquering death and paying our sin debt in full. Now all
who choose to trust and follow Him become His children. Because of
Christ, our heart’s desire and His become one, that
each of us is called “Child of the one true King”, just as my 11-year-old recently
wrote on her Dickey’s BBQ cup.In Him
all joy, identity, purpose, and peace is found as we are united with Him
through love.
“See
what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children
of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)
