Fifty Likes

I didn't sleep well last night and when I finally did succumb to the heavy lids and the deep breath of sleep I didn't want it to end and it was difficult to wake up at the 4:30 AM alarm.  A kiss good bye from my husband at 5 AM as he left for work didn't draw me out of bed, either. What seemed like a short time after Paul left, I was vaguely aware of the sound of one of my children pouring cereal in the kitchen, but I was never fully aroused by the noise.  It was ten after six when my daughter came into my room, already fully dressed for school, and, surprised to find me still asleep, quietly asked me what was going on.  With her words I finally woke up, jumped out of bed shocked that I slept so late and feeling a bit panicky that I would have to rush to get ready for the day.

As I groggily stumbled into the kitchen, I was greeted by my son, Joe, who showed me a post on his facebook wall that startled me into a wide awake state.  A young girl with whom he is acquainted wrote:  "Just found out that I'm pregnant.  Fifty 'likes' and I'll keep it."  My son was horrified that this girl could be so flippant about the life of her baby and wondered if this wasn't a hoax.  Sadly, the status only had two "likes" at the time that Joe came across it, so I challenged him to not only "like" it, but to share it and encourage others to "like" it so that the young mother would see that life is valuable to many more than fifty people.

Joe decided that he would wait to try to determine the truth as to whether or not she was really pregnant or this was simply a bogus post for attention before he would get drawn into the controversy in a public way.  He wanted an opportunity to speak with her individually.  I am praying for him today that he will have that chance to talk one and one with her, and that God will give him the right words to say to impress the sacredness and value of life upon her heart, including the sacredness and value of her own life.

I work for the Women, Infants and Children Program and often meet women who are scarred by previous abortions.  It was just a few weeks ago when I met a woman who was pregnant with her fourth child.  She told me that it took her a while to realize that she was pregnant because she didn't believe that pregnancy was possible for her anymore.  She said that she had been in an abusive marriage and when she became pregnant with her third child, she chose to abort that baby.  Afterward, when she felt the time was right, she and her husband tried to conceive again, but couldn't.  She blamed herself for her infertility, thinking that God was punishing her for killing her baby, and she suffered horribly from the effects of regret.  Upon discovering her current pregnancy she was overjoyed to learn that she really isn't infertile and that God was giving her another chance to mother a newborn into this world.  She was determined to make the most of that chance and to be the best mother she can possibly be by starting right now to take good care of herself and the new life growing within her.

Why is it, I wonder, that so many women need to learn the hard way, through sorrow and tears, that abortion is a decision they will long regret?  Why can't they see than an abortion doesn't just kill their baby, but that it kills part of their own souls as well?  How many dead babies does it take until abortion is no longer the facetious topic of a facebook status and an everyday reality of our world?

Please consider taking some time to join in prayer for an end to abortion at this year's 40 Days for Life Campaign in your local area, which begins on September 26th and runs through November 4th.  To learn more about how you can help increase awareness for the sanctity and value of human life and to help save the lives of the unborn, please visit this link.