The gift of life is a miracle, but yet we live in a culture that thinks it’s a choice. A choice between life and death. If a child is wanted, the level of care can be exceptional. If the child is not wanted, the same physician can, uncaringly, abort the child and throw it in the trash. How can this be? How can a physician keep jumping from one side of the fence to the other? Could it be that life is not seen as sacred? Life is not accepted as a miracle from God. Are they so wrapped up in the monetary outcome of either side that they forget they are human too? What if it was them under the knife? What if it was them that was not given the chance to live?
We fight for all these rights, but the right to life is rarely spoken about. We candy coat it with words like, it’s a woman’s choice. It’s her body as if the child within her womb is a parasite sucking the life out of her. What is forgotten is that this child looks just like you. Has your same mannerisms and features. The cute nose, the beautiful eyes. This child is your legacy.
Throughout the bible, the battle has always been about life. Moses was saved by the order of the Pharaoh to kill all the young boys.
The king of Egypt then spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah, and the other Puah.16 ‘When you attend Hebrew women in childbirth,’ he said, ‘look at the two stones. If it is a boy, kill him; if a girl, let her live.’17 But the midwives were God-fearing women and did not obey the orders of the king of Egypt, but allowed the boys to live.18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘What do you mean by allowing the boys to live?’19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women, they are hardy and give birth before the midwife can get to them.’20 For this, God was good to the midwives, and the people went on increasing and growing more powerful;21 and since the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.22 Pharaoh then gave all his people this command: ‘Throw every new-born boy into the river, but let all the girls live.’ Exodus 1:15-22
The Israelites were slaves and, therefore, were looked at as mere cattle and not human. Pharaoh was performing sex selection murders, much like what happens in China but in reverse. God in His mercy, heard the cries of His people and sent Moses to deliver them. The same Moses that was raised by the King of Egypt. The same Moses that would have been killed by the above command.
Only God can make that happen. Could it be that He was trying to show the message that EVERY person counts? What would have happened if Moses was killed with the rest?
We then fast forward to the birth of Jesus. Herod, a jealous man, knew that the Messiah would be born. Instead of worshiping him, he became jealous and decided that he would destroy him, as if he ever had the power to. We, as humans, get caught up in the pride of the devil thinking that we can accomplish more than we are capable of. And so history repeats itself.
Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”
Matthew 2:16
Now move forward to the 1970s. In the United States the most diabolical law went into place. Roe vs Wade which would change the course of life as we know it, and history again, repeats itself but under a different guise. All of a sudden, the woman can choose whether to keep her baby or kill it. I am not condemning anyone because I know for a fact that most abortions are coerced and the woman and child are victims of this coercion. It’s been almost 50 years later, and the amount of children that have been aborted has reached astronomical numbers. Whole generations have been lost. What would life have been like if those children had the chance to live? We could have had future presidents, future priests, nuns or bishops. One person can make a difference. People like Rosa Parks who with courage, got on the white section of the bus, thus starting the rebellion against segregation. What if she was not allowed to live? How about Martin Luther King? His legacy still goes on with his call for unity. God gives each of us a mission in life. He has a plan for each one of the children conceived in this world. The problem is when we start to think we are in control of our conception by the use of contraception. Do you see now why we have the problems in this world? We, as children of God, not God, start to think that we are in control of our own destiny and the biggest area this error shows up is in the idea that we can control how many children we have. I am not immune to this behavior as when I was younger and worldly, I used contraception and sterilization. It wasn’t until I realized the finality of the method we chose at a very young age, was when I had doubts and asked my husband to have a reversal. Two more beautiful children that I do
n’t know how I could ever live without were born from that action, both of whom we live with now as adults. How could I have been so dumb? How could I have fallen in the trap that I am in charge of my family size? Looking at life now, I could have had eight children instead of the four beautiful young women that I had to fight for. If I would have let God take charge and decide how many children I should have, the result would have been so much better. You see when you think that you are in control of an area of life that you have no business controlling, it causes so much unwarranted stress. When you let go and let God and have a “Come what may” attitude, you are free.
In this world of control, I see so much uneasiness and unhappiness. Fear seems to be the norm instead of confidence and reliance on God. Knowing our place is the key. We need to know that we are just small children of a loving God that only punishes us when we need to be punished but when we are trying hard to be good, He lavishes us with so much love that we can hardly believe He could love us so much. Let’s start, as a people, to remember our place and accept the challenges that come our way. Let’s not try to force things and use quick fixes, that often become the source of constant pain in the end. I have talked to numerous women who have had abortions and not one of them said, I am so glad that I did what I did. Most of them still cry after many years. Most have so much remorse and have a hard time forgiving themselves. Please forgive yourself and ask God to forgive you. If you have gone to confession or if you aren’t Catholic and confessed to Him directly, He has already forgiven you. Forgive yourself. Let go and let God love you. Let’s start to turn this world around by living in God’s will which is the same as saying “Come what may” or better yet, Mary’s fiat “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” Say this when you are fired from a job because of your religious beliefs knowing with confidence, that God will bring an even better
one. Say this when you are convicted of a crime that you didn’t commit. Say this when everything is stacked up against you. You lose your job, family, house, money, etc. Remember what Job went through in the bible? He lost everything and was about to die and yes, He did complain to God a little but he let go and started to praise God amongst the storms. God restored Him with even more than he had before because of his faithfulness.
Let’s all be like Job and Mary and praise God amongst the storms by proclaiming, “ BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WILL.” For more information on my story and how to purchase my book, please visit my website at www.cheryleannemiller.com.