It's doing what is right. It is standing up for the weak, protecting the hurt, seeing and reaching for the good in others. It is finding the best in everything and sharing that wisdom with others.
How do you teach that?
I was talking to a dear friend of mine earlier this week, and she mentioned she hoped her adopted daughter would never feel abandoned by her birth mom. And that statement struck me pretty hard, because more than likely, at some point, that dear, beautiful child probably will feel that pain and hurt-especially since her birth mom has seemingly decided to cut off contact.
But at the same time, I realized, though it stinks that their child may not ever see or meet the birth mom, I know that my friends will be teaching about what a noble, strong, selfless act the birth mom chose by giving life, and how very much their child is loved by all of them.
It would have been easier for the birth mom to "un do" her mistake with an abortion. It would have been easier for her to not have to tell her parents, or boyfriend. And from what I understand, the birth mom had no support, the parents threatened to kick her out of their home, the boy friend left, and she was all alone.
But somehow, she was strong enough to do what was right. To take responsibility for unprotected sex, and give life to the lovely person that was created. To me, that is the most noble act a person can do.
Even though I am not sure how to do it, I hope I can teach my children to be noble like that birth mom.
This is the season of Lent, which, for me, is very important since we are Catholic. During Lent, we celebrate the 40 Days For Life by increasing efforts to help young women who are considering abortion.
One service I will be volunteering with is Birth Choice in Raleigh-they help young people find a way to avoid abortion, either through help to keep the child or help to find adoptive parents, as well as counseling and help through Project Rachel for those who have had an abortion. If you have baby items you no longer need, consider donating them to The Gabriel Project, which offers support to help mom throughout raising her child.
****This is completely my opinion. If you happen to be a pro-abortion person, I welcome the commentary; however, please remember to keep it all friendly or I will remove your comments. :) ****
8 comments:
I would love to donate some items to The Gabriel Projects.!
Oh fun! I will be working on going through all the old clothes the boys have out grown, so I hope I can make a run out there with some stuff sometime next week. Feel free to drop stuff by my house OR we can make the run out together and then grab lunch or something.
You have already started teaching your children how to be noble. You are very noble person. You are one of the most selfless and most compassionate people I know.
I am glad that I have never had to be in a position to pick whether to keep a child or not. I however, would never have an abortion but know there are several people out there who cannot have children who are longing for a child in their life. We have a wonderful adoption process in our church and it is all done through LDS Social Services not at all like the state Social services. They help council with both parents and also help the birth parents find parents they would like adopt their baby. So, the parents actually get to choose the parents which I think is great because then that mother will not have to worry where and who their baby was placed with. Because even though that young mother might not think about it now they will one day.
Another great thing is you do not have to be a member of the church in order to use this service.
We need to get together before the baby is born.
Garner is having their Annual Easter Egg Hunt April 27th. We will be there, Chad will have to do all of the bending over or he will have to pick me up.
I think your children will be just fine, Miche. You and Bill are some of the best people that I know, and your boys can't help but want to imitate that.
I wish our society focused more on preventing unwanted pregnancies as a whole. I wish we had better access to sex education and birth control. I think encouraging those two things would help us reduce abortions by a whole lot.
OH Caitlin, I agree completely. It frustrates me that young people-especially girls-aren't better armed with information on different forms of birth control, how it works, and how to use it properly.
those sound like wonderful programs to get involved in!! How did you find them? I would love to find something around here...
And don't worry...I don't think you will have a hard time teaching your kids to be noble. Most kids learn by example and just the example you set speaks volumes.
And I completely agree with your post. I think having an abortion (no matter the circumstance) is the most selfish thing a person can do. It is only thinking about yourself.
My best friend and I used to get in the most heated debates about this issue because she has always been pro-choice. Well just a few months ago she started working in a free pregnancy clinic. The clinic mainly serves low-income families. She is the only one who works there that speaks spanish so she sits in a lot of the appointments to translate. Before you get an abortion where she lives the abortion clinic needs a proof or pregnancy slip so many women that are coming to her clinic are there to get that slip. 99% of women who come to her clinic to get that slip change their minds after their appointment. She has witnessed it and translated it many times. She says it is so amazing to see these women come to understand about the life inside them. She is now witnessing how true it is that it IS life inside you. She is now 100% pro life!! woo hoo! She also gets to see these women who changed their minds come back to the clinic for free pregnancy care! so she works at a wonderful place! She has also told me about the women she works with. Many of them have had abortions and have over the years come to regret them. Many of them can tell her exactly how old their babies would be and what their names are. It just breaks my heart.
Also about birth control and sex education! I completely agree! Our young people need to people educated 100%!! I have seen videos where the girls didn't even know how you get pregnant! and these were teenagers!!
I myself blindly went on the pill right before Charles and I got married. Little did I know that the pill I was on was actually killing pregnancy instead of preventing it. I should have done way more research before I went on the pill to begin with. Well lesson learned and now I research EVERYTHING! lol
ok that was long...you are awesome Miche!
I won't even get into the whole choice/life debate (I'm on your side, in case you wondered) but wanted to say that teaching your kids to be noble is a great goal. I know you can do it.
Nell
I just saw this article and thought you might find it interesting:
http://mommylife.net/archives/2010/03/abortionbreast.html
:)
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