My mom once told me that I’ve had a stance on the sanctity of life since I was fairly small. One afternoon, while riding in the car on the way to grandma’s I asked her, “What if someone finds out they’re going to have a baby and they don’t want it?” And she said something to me along the lines of, “Well, most people just decide that they want it after all.” I must have asked her then why someone wouldn’t want a baby in the first place, and it was at that point that she explained to me, “Some people don’t think it’s a baby right away.” As mom retells it, my response was a very decisive statement, “You know what I think? I think it’s a baby as soon as you know you’re pregnant.” I called mom tonight to find out at exactly what point I’d made this decision. It was twenty-two–almost twenty-three years ago. I was six.

And today, with a most wonderfully made baby in my most wonderfully round belly, I still feel the same way. In fact, I’ll go a giant leap further and say that I absolutely believe a life is a life as soon as it is formed. In my case, this tiny little person growing was a life nearly three whole weeks before I even knew it existed. By the time we found out, he or she already had a beating heart. I have the utmost compassion for a woman in a dire situation who does not know what to do with the news that she’s pregnant, and my heart breaks for the woman who believes that terminating her pregnancy is the best or only choice, but I will never deny that an unborn baby is still a baby–and that the sanctity of life is a very real, very important, very necessary subject to be open about, controversial though it may be.

Instead of condemning, judging or pretending I understand the shoes of a woman who feels burdened to make such a heart-wrenching choice, I hope to continue to build a life that supports LIFE. The older I get, the more clearly I know that God has created me to love on and support pregnant women, new moms and moms in general. Becoming one myself is not only miraculous, but also one more way I’ll be better equipped to be that support to someone else. This passion makes my heart beat. Is my heart beat.

God has been stirring this in me for a long time, but as of late, I can’t help but feel it more intensely that ever. Abroad or around the corner, I want to be available to women who are, by God’s design, becoming mothers. On this, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, I can’t help but mourn for millions of lives–a third of a generation, that have been lost to abortion, misinformation, mis-education, and/or lack of support. And I also can’t help but “shout from the rooftops,” so-to-speak, about what I really believe and how I really feel.

A few more tidbits for the evening, and if you’re still with me, a poignant video I saw for the first time last week. It will consume four minutes of your day, but it is absolutely worth watching and sharing.

Some things to ponder:

“A person’s a person, no matter how small!” -Dr. Seuss

“I’ve noticed everyone who is for abortion has already been born.” -Ronald Reagan

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you.” -God  (Jer 1.5)

And a site worth considering. Especially here.

Plus, as promised, the video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APkV40vUhWs&feature=related]

If you know a young woman who needs someone to come alongside her–in prayer, support, conversation, love and/or labor, please let me know. Feel free to leave a comment with your contact info, or send an email my way.

gratefully carrying and believing in miracles,

mm