I’ve tried to avoid dying on the hill of any hot button issue—except for one. This issue was fairly easy for me to write about since I did it from a safe distance. I donated to the cause and posted about it on my blog. Then one day everything changed: I needed to put feet to what I believed.
A poignant text arrived while I was sitting cozy in my antique rocking chair that's covered by the same lambskin I used to line the stroller and snow sled for each of my beloved babies. The message included an ultrasound image of an unplanned baby whose dad happened to be my then nineteen-year-old son.
Without going into the details of how and why, my life took a big turn in a direction I had secretly hoped wouldn’t ever happen to me; I ended up helping raise my grandchild for his first many months of life. A. Lot. I helped deeper and wider than I anticipated. I put feet to my prolife belief.
I still help out regularly. But now it’s at a normal pace that doesn’t wear me out and doesn’t leave me with barely any time for my creative life. I don’t regret those early months of putting little guy ahead of everything else. I learned a lot. I was blessed a lot. And the bond between my grandson and I is rock solid. I adore him. (I even used the lambskin I mentioned to line his stroller.)
The sacrifice of love God asked of me has given me a greater boldness in writing about the hot button issue of abortion. I can write regarding prolife because God made sure I walked the talk. When I was told I was going to be a grandmother sooner than any of us expected, I didn’t flinch—I supported my son in his decision to say yes to life. I spoke affirming words that backed up what I believed. I knew God would help all of us. And trust me, we needed His help because some aspects of the situation were so challenging that even a professional who became involved commented we’d have to go pretty far to come across a situation as strange as ours was.
Yes, I know how complicated unplanned journeys can be. I got a closeup glimpse of why some grandparents and parents possibly-to-be might say no to life. I saw the dark side of saying yes. I saw some things that went horribly wrong.
But we didn’t walk alone. God, in His mercy, brought people in the know alongside so we knew we weren’t alone—so our hurting hearts were cushioned by the lambskin of His love.
No matter what hot button issue God calls us to write about and get involved in, we’re going to face fire at some point. The hotter the issue, the more likely we’ll get burnt. But I’d rather be one of the ones who suffers a little bit here than one of those who causes a little one to suffer. God’s got this. Each life. Each loss.
Our job as Christ’s followers, and as His inspirational writers, is to trust, obey, and write God’s way: truthfully in love. There’s no fear of regret when we walk and write in love.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8 NIV
Right to life blessings ~ Wendy Mac
P.S. I'm nosy-to-know if you've ever put feet to your prolife belief and helped an unwed parent in your church family? It's rarer than you think. But the parent and his/her family will remember you forever as a person of true faith because you loved and didn't judge.
