Am I pro-life?

Many people might want to throw their computers out the window after they read what I am about to write. Keep reading anyway.

Here it goes....

Being pro-life is not everything.

Are you still there?

Let me elaborate...

There is a difference between being anti-death and being pro-life. One can oppose death and at the same time not actively support life.

Understand where I'm at?

A couple of months ago, I sat across from a young girl, holding her hands and welcoming her tears. Let me tell you her story. "Lashawna" is homeless. She sleeps on friends' couches and takes a meal where she can get it. She has no contact with her family...if you can even call "them" that. Her father abandoned the family when Lashawna was a baby. Lashawna's mother was physically abusive to all 3 of her kids, but especially to Lashawna's younger sister, who has some special needs. Lashawna and her sisters were removed from the home and passed from foster home to foster home until, at 18, Lashawna aged out of the system...which pretty much brings us full circle. Homeless. Familyless. Hopeless. And now pregnant. Lashawna came to me considering abortion.

It is easy to check a box on a ballot. It's easy to spout off an easily defined conviction at a cocktail party. But what do you say to Lashawna?

Homeless. Familyless. Hopeless.

I can tell her not to abort her baby.
I cannot guarantee she will have help raising her baby.
I cannot guarantee she will have a place to live.
I cannot promise that she will have the resources to buy prenatal vitamins and diapers.
I cannot promise that her child "won't end up like me...being passed from home to home" if she chooses adoption.
I can tell her not to abort her baby. But I can't promise her any of those other things, because there are plenty of statistics to sabotage those promises. Unless I choose to be actively pro-life for her and her child, they will end up being just another one of those statistics (and there are plenty not-so-good-ones to choose from).
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Recently, I stumbled across THIS ARTICLE. Oh my. It is pretty much my heart, summed up on a page.

Friends, we are so eager to shout to the world that we are "PRO-LIFE!" But are we truly pro-life, or just anti-death?

I am terrified to admit it, but I must say that my answer to Kinsey Thurlow's question would have to be "no." There are hundreds of thousands of kids waiting to be adopted here in the US. Millions more around the world. If we, the people of God, are not even caring for these kids, why would we be arrogant enough to think we could take on thousands more? ***I am by NO MEANS saying that abortion is right, good, or any of the like. (And I'm also not saying that GOD could not handle the thousands of lives that are in jeopardy here)***

I'm just giving you something to think about at your next cocktail party...Abortion creates brokenness. However, the faces behind abortion are complicated. They are hurting. They are also uniquely beautiful. And they need us to be pro-LIFE for THEM, too...not just for their babies.

I've heard a couple of people respond to Thurlow's article by saying that God's people have not been educated about foster care and adoption, that what we need to do is focus on educating people about the need.

As a full-time student (who has been a student pretty much since she was born), I'm here to educate YOU about...well, education.

learning [lur-ning]:
--noun
1. by systematic study in any field of scholarly application.

2. the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.
3. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience.

Let me just say this. It is the job of my professors to present information. As a nursing student, it is my job to show up to class, study the reading material, review what is presented, and apply, both to my life and to my nursing practice, the information I am receiving. My professors do not bang on my door each morning, make sure I am up and reading my textbooks, lead me to class, or watch me review. These things are not in their job description.

I'm sure there is truth to the statement: "The Church has not been educated about foster care and adoption." I'm also sure that God longs for His people to actively pursue His heart...to actively pray that He would burden them with the things that burden His heart. I'm sure that He longs for His people to study His Word, to intentionally look for ways to carry out His work here on earth.

So here is my plea. Don't let ignorance be the barrier between you and God's heart. Don't wait for someone to spoon-feed you. Take it upon yourself to learn His likes and dislikes, His passions and burdens. PRAY that God would reveal to you ways you can be not only anti-death, but also PRO-LIFE. STUDY God's Word...I'm pretty sure you'll see God's heart for the oppressed shine through. REVIEW how God might have you act. {And don't think, by any means, that I am not including myself in this plea...I am, as you read this, taking a dose of my own medicine.}

Let's give people like Lashawna a reason to believe they do not have to resign themselves to the statistics. Let's come alongside them and give them a home, a family, and a hope in the God who loves them more than they could even fathom. I may not be able to promise many things, but I can guarantee that our God is not only against death, but also very much for LIFE. And He longs to raise LIFE out of death...through the hands and feet and servant hearts of His people.