Tomorrow marks the 49th annual March for Life.
An estimated 50,000 people are expected to march on the National Mall in Washington, fighting for the unborn, as Saturday marks the 49th (and hopefully last) anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
People from all over the country will flood Washington to stand for the voiceless, and hear speakers like Fr. Mike Schmitz and Kirk Cameron.
The theme for the march this year, is “Equality begins in the womb.”
Which, is so fitting given the current social climate in the United States. As a nation, we’ve become so hyper focused on gender equality, racial equality, sexual orientation equality…seen in hiring practices, educational systems, political offices, in places of employment, at the Oscars, and now even unthinkably, in sports (ie: women’s collegiate swimming).
This battle for equality is everywhere. And warranted or not, it has become a battlecry for so many.
And yet, one very large and important group has been completely forgotten and pushed aside when it comes to equality: the children in the womb.
Pushed out of the picture in favor of “a woman’s right to choose,” those precious lives are entirely disregarded, proving yet again how “Me-First” our society has become.
It’s funny because all of the pro-abortion rhetoric is, “My body, my choice.” “Hands off my body.” “Body autonomy.” Which is so ironic, given the current vaccine mandate debate that’s being waged in the courts and in our towns.
The pro-choicers that are fighting for body autonomy when it comes to a woman’s “right” to kill the child in her womb, many are the same people fighting against body autonomy when it comes to deciding whether or not to get a vaccine.
And look, don’t get it twisted: I am in NO WAY an “anti-vaxxer”… I have been jabbed three times, even though I’m currently huddled under a blanket with a 101 degree fever, praying it’s not the Rona.
But it’s just ironic how wishy-washy people can be when it comes to different applications of the same principle.
I’ve written a lot of pro-life posts. Everything from my experience praying outside Planned Parenthood in NYC (and the spiritual warfare that followed), to the movie Unplanned, to different pro-life voices, what anorexia taught me about the sanctity of human life, and so forth. Most, if not all of them censored from Facebook.
But I there’s one aspect of this fight for life that I have never touched on before, mainly because it’s not…well…flattering.
And something that I’ve decided to really work on, starting now.
I’m going to be really disgustingly honest here: I harbor a lot of bitterness towards people that are adamantly pro-abortion.
These women with their “hands off my uterus” bumper stickers and “P*$$* Power” hats…when I see them, I have a visceral internal response.
That is not something I’m thrilled to admit.
But the fact is, in my heart, I really struggle with separating their belief that I see as murderous, heartless, selfish, etc, with who they are as a person.
The negativity I harbor in my heart towards outspoken abortion activists, it is not pretty, and it certainly isn’t Christian.
And I want to just pause to say that, when it comes to my friends, I know I am the lone prolife wolf in my pack of buddies. And I don’t harbor any negativity towards them at all, even though we have different beliefs when it comes to life.
But if I were to meet a person for the first time, and they led with some sort of pro-abortion, in-your-face, acoustic slogan, I would have a really hard time not letting that instantly color my opinion of that person, at a moral level.
Again, I know this is not attractive, but I’m just being honest. Maybe I’m more judgmental than I thought. Maybe I’m a Negative Nancy, or harbor hatred in my heart.
I just can’t imagine what could lead someone to believe that killing a child is – not just okay, – but a cause to take a stand for.
What I’ve been praying for is the temperance of spirit. I’ve been praying for a softening of my heart to separate this (horrific) belief a person holds, with the person themself.
Because we are more than one decision. We are more than one aspect of who we are.
Heck, if everyone instantly judged me by the fact that I was severely anorexia and nearly threw away my life, and that was the only thing that accounted for my character, I would be in a world of hurt.
Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
I need to have an instant switch that I flip when I feel that visceral reaction happening, that instead of going to a negative thought, I instead offer up a prayer for that person. A genuine prayer that they be led to the truth. That there may be a conversion of heart, of thought, of understanding.
2 Tim 2: 24-26 “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned to be true in this life, is that you cannot make a person change.
There is not a single person in this world that you can force to change, try as you might. It is a toilsome task that leaves one feeling defeated, heartbroken, and frustrated beyond compare — believe me, after being the President of a Sorority where 55 girls lived under the same roof, I learned that lesson the hard way…
But you cannot make a person change.
Only God has the power to change hearts. Only He can open our eyes to the truth. Only He can help us hear His voice. Only He can soften hearts of stone. That is His, and only His, power.
All we can do is pray for that person. Offer them up to God to move in their heart, and create a living temple in their soul.
That is what we are called to do. Not judge. Not think terrible things about what that person might do to a puppy. Or arrogantly wonder how they sleep at night.
Because truth time: I’ve got a laundry list of things myself, that I should be examining internally…so who am I to be pointing out anything anyone else might need to work on.
That person, is a creation of God, just like you and I, and therefore equally deserving of love.
Which, I guess brings this all full circle, back to the theme of the 2022 March for Life: Equality begins in the womb.
The greatest equalizer in this world, is love. Love is not a currency that can be manipulated, or inflated, or shown upon one verses the other. It doesn’t matter what the situation, love can abide through any barrier, any hardship, any trial, any defeat.
Let us show that love, not only to the child in the womb, but also to all those who may be fighting against the very thing we’re marching for.
“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5
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