Humanity is so interesting to me. People can utterly disagree on a subject and believe it with their whole heart, usually with no thread of doubt on either side. Politically, as of late, this has been on the forefront of our media because we are gearing up for the next presidency in the United States. Political parties are deciding which candidates will best represent their party. There have been debates and interviews, rallies and meet-n-greets. Each candidate certain they are the best person for the job. Each person with a backing of tens of thousands of people.
When you talk to someone who is rallying behind a candidate, they usually are very passionate. They have a certain standard of beliefs which make them so passionate and that make them stand behind that candidate.
I think I would fall under the passionate category in some sense. I am a woman so I am passionate about rights for women and making sure we don’t get trampled on or degraded. I am a mother so I am passionate about child labor laws and an advocate for education. I am a Christian so I am passionate about freedom of religion – freedom to practice my faith in Jesus and freedom to share the faith I have with others. I am a writer so I am passionate about the freedom of speech and the freedom I have to express my beliefs without restrictions.
Since I was a child, I can remember practicing my passions in a silly way. We would drive around in the car, and I would see the stickers with the boy peeing on different things – “Ford” for some reason pops in my head. I thought this idea was disgusting and indecent. So as a child, I would sit in the back seat and take down license plate numbers and car type of those who had that icky sticker in the back of their car. It’s silly looking back at that because writing down those numbers and letters did little to change anything, but it shows how determined I was to make things right and to make change.
Today, I realized just how passionate I am for one of the things God has placed on my heart. Fighting to abolish abortion is something I have always wanted. I have always fought for it. But recently, after having a child of my own, this passion is something that never leaves my heart.
A hashtag that is trending recently is heartbreaking: #shoutyourabortion. This hashtag is in support of abortion and an attempt to normalize it. This action has been taken on many other life-killing things in our culture recently. Songs have been written, pictures on facebook have been changed, hashtags created all to normalize something that is supposed to bring shame. Really, this is not a new phenomenon. When Jesus was beaten and killed, those who were condemning him to death convinced everyone to mock him by shouting “king of the Jews.” They mocked him in an attempt to convince the world that he deserved this death because this king of the Jews and Son of God “couldn’t” command himself and his angels to take him off of the tree he hung on or to stop the men from beating his back. They didn’t know that who they were actually sentencing to death was God himself. Nor did they realize that they would be one day facing the ultimate Judge.
This hashtag comes after the House of Representatives has passed a bill to defund planned parenthood. This is coming from those who claim that defunding planned parenthood is stripping women of their rights and attempting to lower women in the totem pole.
This is where my passions come in… I was literally brought to tears when a series of videos came out revealing the truth of what this organization does. When watching the videos, you see that they are edited and cut to be pieced together into a shorter version of the original video. They are created to evoke emotion. But, the video itself is not what creates and evokes the emotion; It is the content. If that content was given in the entirety of the conversation, it would still evoke emotion to anyone listening. If I was sitting in those restaurants listening to those conversations, I would have said something to those executives and doctors at planned parenthood. I would not be able to sit still or keep silent. And today, I am unable to sit still and keep silent…
I’ve had people, friends and family, tell me that of course the woman doesn’t feel happy about the abortion and that pro-choicers aren’t okay with abortion, but they would rather have “safe” abortions than abortions done unsafely or in the blackmarket. But this latest hashtag shows just how untrue that really is…
To listen to people flaunting their abortions like the latest designer bag or newest trending hairstyle is abhorrent to me. They share with excitement and thrill. They show no regret or shame. In fact, they show their motives to do it: selfishness and self-gain. Here are some examples from twitter users:
“My abortion was in ’10 & the career I’ve built since then fulfills me & makes me better able to care for kids I have now. #shoutyourabortion” -@thelindywest
“I’ve had 2 abortions. I don’t have to justify or explain them to anybody. My life is more valuable than a potential life. #shoutyourabortion” – @clementine_ford
“Had an abortion procedure done at age 22 because I was WAY too young to parent. Have never, ever regretted it. #shoutyourabortion” – @maryemilyohara
I think when it comes down to it, we will manipulate anything to work it around our comfort and ultimate desires. I have done this so many times in my life. I remember convincing myself that a pattern in someones life was not what it was because I wanted to be apart of the “cool crowd.” I ended up in very unhealthy relationships with people who were toxic doing things that were against every bit of who I claimed to be as a Christ follower.
I am convinced that this is what these people must be thinking because I simply cannot wrap my mind around it. They want to have sex so bad that they will go to all extremes to do it – (no need to sugar coat it) even murdering a baby. They want their lives to stay easy and fun and sometimes reckless instead of taking responsibility for their decisions, so, in order to avoid them, they choose murder. They are afraid that people will judge them (or their family is fearful of judgement) so instead of keeping the baby or going through with the pregnancy and putting the baby up for adoption even, they murder the baby instead. It really is very similar to the choices I have made previously in my life with friendships or lifestyle choices. I was not the perfect angel I sometimes try to convince people of – I have chosen things that were judgement-worthy. I have chosen hate instead of love which Jesus says is as bad as murder. I am no better than these women, but I have been made new and forgiven. And I am not content with my past and want to forge a new future because of what Jesus has done for me on the cross.
I don’t want to live in a world where #shoutyourabortion is the norm, where shouting murder is the norm. I don’t want to justify and praise what is wrong. I want to move closer and closer to looking and living like Jesus did. Loving others and fighting for justice. I want to #shoutlife and #shoutadoption (Thanks Ashley Hasemeyer for the awesome idea). As Jesus did, I want to fight for women’s rights…but I also want to fight for the rights of unborn babies who have every right to live to meet their potential in life. The unborn babies who have every right to live even if their mother and father were younger than what is preferred or easy (and lets be honest, having a baby, no matter the age, is ever easy). The unborn baby who doesn’t care if you have a successful career. Whatever the reason, they have a right to life.
#shoutlife
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| Sweet baby Jackson – #shoutlife |
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