For the Love of Children

I could not stop sobbing last night.  It was a deep, mournful, crushing sorrow that forced out uncontrollable anguish as I cried out to God.  That is how profoundly heartbroken I am. 

Never have I been so ashamed of our human race, so pained by the depth of our aptitude to live in the darkness of evil.  I'm still reeling.

First, I want you assure you this is NOT a partisan political statement. This is directed to Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and anyone of the human race. It doesn't matter if you are Pro-Choice or Pro-Life.  We need to work together and talk about this. 

Most of us have at least heard the news stories involving the undercover videos of officials from Planned Parenthood discussing the harvesting and selling of fetal tissue and body parts. Just writing that sentence seems vile, but I feel compelled to talk about this issue.

Perhaps mistakenly, last night I watched the lastest video that features a doctor discussing the selling of organs and body parts with fake "buyers".  But, it gets exponentially more horrific when they go into a lab and examine actual body parts from aborted fetuses.  

That is when I went from horrified to utterly heartbroken. My whole spirit was crushed. 

God, have mercy on us all.   

PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO! It is the most disturbing thing I've seen and it will forever haunt me. I will never be able to remove the images and the awful words with their evil and callous inflection from my mind.  You do NOT want to see it.

But, here is what is important.  These unborn children - call them whatever you choose, fetuses, embryos, babies - they have tiny body parts just like you and me (they showed those parts in graphic detail in the video).  Whether you believe life begins at conception or later; whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, whether you are Republican or Democrat or neither, don't these lives at least deserve a modicum of dignity in their handling and disposition? 

Can we all agree on that?  Can we come together as humans and say that handling and disposition of what would have become a beautiful human life should be respectful and reverent?

That is all the good I'm asking to come from this terrible situation.  

It is completely crushing me that humans have plunged to such dark depths of insensitivity and callousness toward life that we feel no loss or sadness or reverence when we look at a tiny human being that is now lost to the world.  

Can we talk about the sanctity of life?  Can we grieve more, and be more outraged at how unborn bodies are treated than how a famous lion was murdered?  (I grieved the lion too, by the way)

I'm not trying to change abortion laws or point the finger at one political party or another.  I just want our society to value human life, even human life that is being voluntarily terminated. We even afford prisoners who are about to be executed for their crimes the dignity of a last meal, a visit with clergy, and a chance to speak their last words out loud.   Their remains are treated with respect, not prodded and picked apart and thrown in the trash.  Can we do the same for aborted humans?  Is that too much to ask?

Honestly, I'd like to defund Planned Parenthood.  Personally, I'd like to close them down. But, I would settle for a change in their culture to one that treats every human life, no matter how small, with dignity and respect.  Can we all agree on that? 

Now, let's talk about being pro-life.  What does that mean?  We need to check our societal self righteousness at the door because our resumes are sorely lacking any depth when it comes to truly believing in the sanctity of life.   

 Sister Joan Chittister, a Catholic nun, said this:

"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is."

Now we can argue about those statements as Republicans or Democrats, or we can do something positive together.  Together.  

Together we can say that children truly matter.  Together we can help the most vulnerable in our society with more than empty words.  Together we can put aside our differences and our power struggles and agree that we want all children to have enough nutritious food to eat, a decent and safe place to live, and a good solid education.  Together we can put our money where our mouths are and spend what it takes to do these 3 things.  

Food.  Shelter.  Education.  For children.

In this nation, with all our wealth and resources and blessings, we can do this.  We can act as if children's lives matter in this country, not only with our words, but with our money. What is stopping us?  

Will we allow political differences or pride or selfishness or foolishness to keep us from giving our children the basics of life - in one of the richest countries on earth?  REALLY?

We must act together.  We must act together or we will surely destroy ourselves, our children and the future of our society. 

I don't know about you.  But, I know I can't stand by and do nothing. Please write to your Congressmen.  Call them.  Tweet them.  Send them this blog.  Just tell them.

Tell them that American children matter.  Tell them to put our tax dollars to good use for food, shelter, and education for every child.  Tell them to stop bickering and agree on one thing -  children's lives matter.  Tell them they can cut other programs and fight about the money for their pet projects and pork barrel spending, but that programs for food, shelter and education for children are non-negotiable.

If we could make this one change, putting money and resources into the lives of this country's children, then maybe the worst of humanity represented in those videos would be a little less crushing. 

God, in your mercy, hear our prayers. 

Be love and be blessed,

Charleston

This is a serious subject and the photo may seem out of place. But, I was talking to God about this senseless loss of precious lives and He sent this butterfly to me. In a small way, it gave me hope.

I thought about not writing anything concerning the devastating tragedy in Charleston.  It was because I was at a loss for words and too troubled to begin to form any meaningful thoughts.  And, also, because I feel so helpless to say anything that will change what is happening.

But, I have a few things to say, and some of them may seem harsh.

I will not pretend that I have all the answers as to why this heinous crime was committed, but I do have some answers.  Let me preface what I'm about to say with the statement that I don't know anything about the man who committed this crime, nor do I know his family, but...

Here is what I do know. Children are not born with hate in their hearts. Our loving Father created us for Love, and I believe we all start out with love embedded in our spirits. However, the enemy will use every opportunity to destroy that beautiful love that is implanted in us.  He will use the world, deception, our own brokenness, and every other thing he can get his "hands" on to turn us against one another and try to replace our loving spirits with hate and evil. It is our responsibility to fight this evil whenever and wherever we see it.  

Parents are often (not always) the ones who teach prejudice and hatred to their children. SHAME on those who teach their children to hate others because of the color of their skin, or the accent of their speech, or the place they worship God.  If you are telling racial jokes, calling people of other races disparaging names, categorizing people simply due to their color or their nationality, or using any language that doesn't reflect the undeniable fact that God loves ALL mankind, then YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!

It breaks my heart to think that most people in this country call themselves Christians, and yet they degrade other people with their speech and their actions. WWJD!  Remember that?  What would Jesus do?  What would Jesus say to us right now? I shutter to think how broken hearted He is right now seeing how we treat one another.

Parents - teach your children that God loves ALL people.  Just like the song "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight."  Teach your children not by telling them.  Teach your children by your example.  Show them that you love people who don't look like you by being inclusive, by using loving words to all people, by NOT accepting hateful speech, hateful music, hateful actions around you. Reach out in love to those who may be on the fringes, and let your children see this.

Friends - I have been guilty of laughing at a racial joke. I have been guilty of worse. We all have. Even my African American friends have done this. It is time that all of us TAKE A STAND!  No more hate speech. Not even joking. Period. That is what we can do. It begins with you and me. 

I vow to set an example of God's love for all people by my speech and my actions.  I will not promote or tolerate the enemy's agenda by putting other people down.  If a friend or someone I know decides to live with hate or promote racism with their words or actions, I will take action. I will call them out. I will let them know it is unacceptable and evil. I WILL TAKE A STAND!

Together, we can teach one another and the next generation that #AllLivesMatter.  Will you join me?

Jesus' commandment was simple.

#loveGodlovepeople

A Revelation In The Valley

Often I will "come across" Scripture that I was not looking for, and when that happens God is usually trying to reveal something to me. 

Today, I picked up my phone and it opened the Bible app without me touching the icon (I can take a hint Lord :)).  It opened to Mark 8, so I read through the chapter trying to see what God was saying to me. Beginning at verse 14 we learn that as the disciples are leaving by boat with Jesus, they realize they have only brought one loaf of bread for the journey. Now, mind you, this is after Jesus performed 2 separate miracles feeding 4 thousand, then 5 thousand people with only a few loaves of bread.  Yet, here they are, eye-witnesses to those very miracles and they are right back to worrying about food when the Son of God is right there in the boat with them!!

Oh my goodness! There are some BIG lessons here, aren't there?  

The first thing that slaps me in the face is how quick we humans are to doubt and to forget the greatness of the God who created us. How many times does He have to prove His trustworthiness before that is the first thing we think about when we are in crisis?  How many times has He rescued us from the darkness of our own sins?  How many times must we witness His love before we truly believe that He is always out for our good?

He is standing in our midst and we fail to recognize the God of all creation.

Jesus says, "Don't you grasp what has happened? Don't you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? Don't you have eyes? Why don't you see? Don't you have ears?  Why don't you hear? Don't you remember?"  I can almost see the look of exasperation on Jesus' face.

Forgive me Lord when your grace is right in front of me and I fail to see it.  Forgive me sweet Jesus when I limit your power by my own doubt.  Forgive me Father for my human failures.  

I may be in the valley of darkness at this moment, but I shall remain faithful to the One who has proved Himself over and over and over again.  He is incapable of failing me.  Did you hear that?  God is INCAPABLE OF FAILING US!  It is not in His DNA (okay, I admit I don't know if He even has DNA, but you get the meaning).

I have failed Him countless times.  Sometimes, it is even the same sin over and over. But, He will NEVER fail me.  

He will hold my hand, whisper to my heart, reveal His goodness and mercy, and pull me from the valley to the mountaintop once again. I trust my God in the midst of doubt, and pain, and struggle.  He isn't letting go of me, and I refuse to let go of Him.

He is worthy.  I trust Him.

Be love and be blessed,