Jason, Sadie and I went to Olympia yesterday to stand up for unborn babies at the annual March for Life at the capitol building. I'm not very good at estimating the number of people in crowds, and there was no mention of the march in the Seattle Times today, but I'd say there were at least 2,000 pro-lifers there and maybe 50 pro-abort counter-protesters. Again, the Catholics put all of us Prostestants to shame by taking the time to participate en masse in this demonstration on behalf of the unborn. I am always so ashamed of non-Catholic Christians at these events, because we should be just as involved with the pro-life movement, and our absence speaks volumes about our unwillingness to tackle this controversial issue. Shame on us and our self-satisfied, apathetic attitude toward the tragedy of legalized infanticide! How many Christians turned out for the pro-marriage rally at Safeco last summer? About 25,000, if I recall correctly. Where were they yesterday? Granted, that rally was on a Saturday, and this march was on a Wednesday, but, surely, this is an issue of greater importance. Jason, bless him, took the day off of work to support this cause. Jesus, please forgive us for our collective guilt in this travesty of humanity and decency, and please continue to bolster the efforts and resolve of all your people, Catholic and non-Catholic.
Today I started my annual 3-days of fasting and prayer leading up to the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. Norma McCorvey (Roe) has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, God bless her. I think often about the little baby she was carrying when she was conned into filing suit as "Roe" in 1972. That little girl was able to escape the death sentence, subsequently handed down to 45 million other unborn babes, by virtue of the fact that, if you don't turn them over to the baby butchers, all pregnancies (even "unwanted" ones!) terminate themselves around 9 months. She was adopted out (Thank God!), and would now be about 32 years old. I wonder if she's ever figured out that she was the baby that McCorvey so desperately thought she wanted to kill. I wonder if she's pro-life. Shouldn't all adopted babies be pro-life? Certainly, if you are adopted, you realize that you are not here because you were particularly "wanted" by your biological parents, but that they were selfless and compassionate enough to welcome you and give you to another family that could care for you and love you.
The march yesterday was very uplifting. They had some very inspiring speakers, none of whom I saw, as we arrived late as usual and had to stand in the very back. Sadie got a big kick out of running around the Capitol grounds in the unusually warm, rainless weather. Two pro-lifers started arguing about the Iraq war, to which I wanted to say, "Can it! This is about the babies!" The pro-aborts were particularly vile this year, with the pungent aroma of desperation clouding about them. They know they are on the losing end of history, and this knowledge led them to cry out rudely during the public prayers and speakers and try to be generally disruptive. Some had horrible signs that said, "I Love Abortion" or "I Got Knocked Up on Abstinence-Only Education." One of the favorite pro-abort sayings appeared on a few signs: "Don't Like Abortion? Don't Have One!" This, of course, is one of the most illogical sayings I've ever heard. How about, "Don't Like Murder? Don't Commit One!" or "Don't Like Slavery? Don't Buy a Slave!" Also, there was a lady there who wanted you to believe that she was "Pro-Choice, Pro-Child." Uh-huh. That's akin to "Pro-Nazi, Pro-Jew." You cannot be both.
A couple of years ago, the pastor of the church we were then attending gave a stirring sermon about surrenduring your life to God's plan. He spoke about how you can never fully prepare yourself for the way God might take your world and spin it about when you submit entirely to His will. The pastor said that it was scary and amazing and wonderful and terrible the way that God will deconstruct your tidy life and your shallow ambitions and rebuild you in His image when you pray to do His will without compromise. I was captivated by and spent many hours pondering this idea, terrified to pray this particular prayer, yet equally afraid not to know His complete plan for me. I tend to like my tidy life, you see. Plus, I was mostly afraid that God would call me to Asia or Africa for missionary work, and then what would I say to Jason?
So, I prayed a timid prayer, asking God for His guidance and direction for my life, asking to be made into what He wanted me to be, reminding Him that I was His - purchased at a great price - and His alone, pleading with Him to remember my limited abilities and prior commitments (Jason), but, in the end, acknowledging that His will ought to be done. This was hardly the triumphant averment of my faith that I had hoped secretly to be capable of, but it was the best I could do at that time. God is so good, so understanding and merciful. I knew that He who began a good work in me would be faithful to complete it, even if it took a lot of maneuvering around my protective barriers of unbelief. So, I waited to see what would happen. It seemed that nothing did.
Then, slowly and slowly, my waking thoughts and nightly dreams began to be haunted by the plight of the unborn and their precarious position in modern society. I began to be deeply troubled by visions of the destruction of life at its most innocent and vulnerable state. My heart's cry became the unheard, unanswered voices of those we lost to the barbarism that hides beneath a self-deluded mantle of "choice." I had been "pro-life" for several years, but not like this, not with this gut-wrenching acuity of horror and pain. Oh God, I thought, is this what it is going to be? Is this what You want me to strive for, to devote my life to? And I prayed again, as I have prayed many times since then. I must never lose sight of this sacred trust from God, this deep empathy and heart that He has given me for the unborn. Is it inconvenient? Yes, but so are most things that take us away from our selfish pursuits. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, I battle all the time to overcome my natural shyness and my tendency toward complacent self-absorption. Is it controversial? Are you kidding me? Almost everyone I know is pro-abortion (I refuse to use "pro-choice," as there is no such thing) to varying degrees. Is it holy? I pray everyday that it is holy and blessed in Jesus's sight.
I have so much work to do, or, rather, God has so much work to do in me, before I make a real difference for the unborn. But events such as the march yesterday are the little wellsprings of living water that Jesus so graciously provides those who seek His will. Even the most stalwart of atheists, Ayn Rand, understood that "the spirit too needs fuel; it can run dry." The March for Life is just one of the filling stations that God has placed on this amazing highway. It is an immeasurable blessing to stand next to those more mature in this particular mission of His, those runners who have lapped me several times in this race, and see that they still have the Spirit of truth shining within, feeding their souls, giving them the strength to continue.
I am confident that we will win. Hopefully within my lifetime we will see abortion in the same light as we now see slavery and wonder how we were ever so deceived as a nation. Heavenly Father, please bring us quickly to that point, and please forgive us all for the death of those little ones. Their angels always see Your face; may it be also for us. Amen.
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