I know the story of a girl who loved the Lord and wanted to do good. She knew of the power of Jesus and his bodily sacrifice so she could receive forgiveness for her bad decisions. She felt quite helpless to fight against the unhealthy things in the world that tempted her to do wrong.
She knew some day her bad habits would catch up with her. That's why she often found herself literally crying out to God to stop her. She thought she understood her own powerful emotions, yet she was still powerless to control them.
She was right in that her continued rebellion against her own conscience would cost her in some physical way. She found herself pregnant, unmarried, and still in high school. The time to make responsible decisions had passed and now she had to make reasonable ones. She tended to be a bit of a loner and a quick when it came to decision making.
She had many good reasons to end the pregnancy and the life of the child. For one, she would not have to be tied to someone who tended to make poor decisions himself. She could turn her life around and look forward to a prosperous future. And, when it was all over with she could stop making unhealthy decisions and live without having to fear the consequences of her actions. As for the baby; it could not possibly grow up happy or receive all the love it deserved. Statistics showed children born to unwed teenage mothers go on to live lives of poverty. The child would suffer for a long time and so would she.
She didn't choose to abort. It wasn't ever really an option though she couldn't tell you why. It was certainly reasonable. It wasn't an abortion that would give her a fresh start in life. Adding more pain, both physical and emotional, wasn't the answer to getting her life back on track. Two wrongs didn't make a right.
It was the responsibility of caring for another's life that gave her a deep sense of desire to make good choices. Wasn't it Christ's love that drove Him to the cross? Motivated by love, she was driven to choose life for her son. She sacrificed what could have been and made the most of what would be.
Her child is happy and greatly loved. He is the oldest child of four. His younger siblings were born in to a God-ordained marriage. A loving and happy union. Many good decisions have been made since that one fragile one. Never again has she had to choose between life and death as a result of a wrong she committed.
She, is me. I am her. I was her then and I am still her now.
A woman who is today standing on the edge of a life altering decision is no different than me. I want her to live and not to hurt any further. I want her to do the most precious and sacrificial thing she can, choose life for her child. To start again now with a positive choice. To tell the darkness in her soul to leave as she takes a leap forward in to the light. The next good decision she makes will be easier and some day she will be proud of who she is.
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