What Does It Mean To Be Pro-Life?

Today, January 22^nd, is the 39^th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States, resulting in over 54 million abortions to date.

Many Americans, however, choose a pro-life standing, one that is firmly against the abortion decision and sees the unborn as persons of value, created in the image of God and deserving of basic human rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But is that all there is? What, truly, does it mean to be pro-life? It includes the abortion issue, to be sure, but it goes far beyond that.

Being pro-life is a worldview and a life-view. We see life as beginning with conception and ending in natural death, which determines how we treat others. It means we stand against abortion, suicide, homicide, genocide, euthanasia, domestic violence, abuse, and discrimination against race, sex, and religion.

It means we visit and serve those in prison and stand for their redemption, and help the poor and homeless find food, shelter, and quality employment. It means we respect those that differ in opinion, but will not tolerate the degradation and destruction of human life.

It means we stand with women who are facing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies to find alternatives to abortion, recognizing that their life is equal to but not more important than that of their unborn child. It means we stand for the right to choose abortion when the life of the mother is endangered, not because her life is more important than her child’s, but because we save the life that we can.

It means we stand for protection of children, the elderly, and the disabled. It is why we stand for the death penalty when someone, with premeditation, takes a life. It means we value human life above plant or animal life.

It means that we preach, teach, live out, and are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). It means we see all human life as worth the blood of Christ.

This is what it means to be pro-life.

How Firm A Foundation: Remembering Daddy

Ten years ago today.

I really don’t remember much about that day. I don’t remember if it was sunny or cloudy, windy or calm. I don’t remember if there was snow on the ground or even if it had been very cold. But I remember well the chill that permeated my being that December night ten years ago.

I grew up a daddy’s girl, no doubt about it. My daddy was a preacher, a barber, a race car driver, an author, and a paralegal. He was smart and he inspired me. He taught me about love, family, and fun. We traveled, camped, celebrated every holiday to the fullest, trusted each other, championed one another, and treated each other with value and honor. He taught me to search for, find, and stand for what I believed in, no matter what the cost. He showed me how to stand on my own feet yet lean on God, say I’m sorry and I love you, value relational success over financial success, and strive for excellence in all.

He had a passion for teaching his children that we find our firm foundation not in man or man’s teaching, but in the inerrant, unshakable Word of God, and that our worth is not found in what others think of us, but in the knowledge that we are worth the very blood of Christ.

He and I dated, held hands, and loved my mother. We debated religious, political, and personal issues. We laughed, cried, and were quiet together. He wasn’t perfect, but he was my hero, and I was sure that he knew everything. But ten years ago, December 14th, 2001, my hero crumbled. With the pull of a trigger he ended his own life.

I was twenty-three. My life changed forever and my heart would never be the same. They say time heals all wounds. It doesn’t. Time does ease the pain, though, and faith, hope and love can restore and make whole the broken.

As I began to put the shattered pieces of my life that he had touched so profoundly back together, I saw they would never fit as they did before. They would need to be placed somewhere else, somewhere called the past, tucked in my heart as memories. Every time I take them out, I see the jagged cracks where they were broken. I see that they don’t fit perfectly, like a puzzle that was put together with the wrong pieces.

Many things, though, remain just as they were. My dad instilled in me what mattered. I stand on my own feet yet lean on God, say I’m sorry and I love you, value relationships and strive for excellence. My value did not diminish when I realized that, to him, I was not worth living for, because I am worth the life of the Son of God. I searched for and found what I believed in, and my foundation was not found in man, not even my first man, my hero.

The ten years since my father died have been good, even great. I have faced head-on the heartbreak, the dissolution of an irreplaceable relationship, and the loss of my childhood mentor and pastor. I am still facing things: the loss of my daughter’s grandfather, some holes that can never be filled, and, at times, feelings that threaten the delicate adhesive that holds those once-shattered pieces together.

An unknown author wrote, “Sometimes on the Rock I tremble, but the steadfast Rock of ages never trembles under me.” I do tremble at times, but I know Whom I have believed, and my foundation is firm.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

How Firm A Foundation v3 by John Keith, 1787

Pages of Motherhood: Bounce ‘N Spin Froggy, True Love and an MLT

In all divisions of life, I am dedicated to living each day intentionally. As a parent, I am dedicated to gleaning wisdom and gaining knowledge from intentionally living these days of mothering my precious peanut. This dedication has led me to hand-write the moments of my mother-journey. They are my own reflections, memories, ideas, thoughts, prayers,musings, embarrassments, observances, amusements and ponderings. These “pages of motherhood” are for me, they are not for the public, at least not most of them. There are some, however, that I want to share with you. Sometimes I need fresh eyes and wiser perspectives. Sometimes I want to share my raw frustrations, a newly uncovered nugget of wisdom, or the sparkling gem of laughter. Following below is one moment from my pages of motherhood:

“True love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice MLT: a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that.” ~ Miracle Max, The Princess Bride.

For my 33^rd birthday last week my parents gifted me with money and instructed me to buy something for myself. That is tough for me these days since almost any cash that comes through my fingers is automatically spent on my daughter. The money-tree life of a parent – sigh. Besides, if I did use money to pamper myself, I would buy one thing: Time. Or a massage. Thankfully, though, my sweet husband knew that and gave me a certificate for an hour-long massage! =)

Fondling my perfectly straight greenbacks and contemplating how to spend these precious dollars, I watched Shelby as she sat happily batting at fuzzy rattling dice on a bulky, gigantic pink “jumparoo” play station.

Our home is tiny, not quite 1,000 square feet. I learned early on that to have a fairly organized and mess-free home, I must be space conscious and fill it with perfectly sized treasures. I endeavor to keep toys, bouncers, swings and socks from intruding into our living space, or at the very least keep them to an unobtrusive minimum (although bibs, bottles and shop towels are a lost cause). This massive bouncing blob of baby paraphernalia, however, was not helping my quest to make our small home feel “unsquished”.

I giggled at my daughter’s goofy grin but crinkled my nose at the monstrosity in my living room. Then again, when you find something – anything – that your 5-month-old is willing to sit in for more than five minutes, you take it with open arms and provide it with a loving home. It gives a busy mama precious time.

Time! I really could buy myself time…and bring unsquishyness, er, organization, back to our home. I promptly and excitedly drug my weary husband and sleepy child through Wal-Mart until I found the perfect thing: the Fisher-Price Space Saver Bounce ‘N Spin Froggy. Light and compact with sanity-saving volume control and musical spinning eyes, my daughter can bounce, bat, jump and play to her heart’s content, my home is clutter-free, and I have time! Some might say the Bounce ‘n Spin Froggy is “all that and a bag of chips.” I say it’s true love…and an MLT!