I receive lots of emails with moving stories, a prayer at the end, and then the command to sent to 100 people or God will think I don't love him. Hrumph! Anyway, I received an email today with a lovely story, that I've read before, and whether that story specifically is true or not, I do not know, and do not care. I'm sure that there are "Kevins" out there.
My own brother was born with his own set of challenges, but his life was no more or less valuable than any others.
Our pregnancies (especially when you're my age)are riddled with warnings, and we're berated with recommendations for testing to determine if our baby has any defects. If he or she is less than perfect (according to medical and societal standards), there is the obvious "out". Abort.
Now I can't pretend to know what it is like to think you're having a perfectly healthy baby, and find out that is not the case, be it at birth or during pregnancy. My heart aches for the women who know their babies are going to be born with a fatal defect and won't live more than a few hours, yet carry that baby lovingly as they would any other. Singing to her, talking to her waiting for the day she is born and only to have to give her right back to God. Certainly, they are a testament to true faith with utter abandon.
Those women, their families, their friends, are changed because of those few minutes with that baby, or the couple of years, or even a very long life with a Down's Syndrome child.
I digress...read the story below. EVERY person is beautiful, perfect, and serves a purpose. How long will it take for the world to realize that?
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.
And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. 'That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! ' Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions..
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won't be surprised at all!
Showing posts with label causes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label causes. Show all posts
3/15/2010
3/11/2010
Big Families...The New "Green"
Found this wonderful article on the Trinity Acres blog and just had to share!
Thank you Mary Ellen Barrett for saying so beautifully what most have no understanding of. We only have 4, but if I'm out with all of them...I get "the look", and the occasional..."wow...4 boys?".
Thank you Mary Ellen Barrett for saying so beautifully what most have no understanding of. We only have 4, but if I'm out with all of them...I get "the look", and the occasional..."wow...4 boys?".
2/19/2010
Very Important Prayer Request
This message came from a friend of mine in Rockford. Please pray for Christine, her family, and for baby Marita.
As many of you already know there have been some concerns over the
baby I am carrying--I am about 25 weeks along. 4 weeks ago I had an
ultrasound done that showed that the baby had only one functioning
kidney and had a 1 in 13 chance of Downs syndrome. Well, yesterday we
had another ultrasound done and it didn't look good. The kidney has
swollen and is blocked. This is causing the other organs to be pushed
out of place, the heart to work harder and the lungs will not be able
to fully develop. The doctor can go in and try to drain the kidney
but feels that it would just fill right back up and there is a high
danger of killing the baby if this procedure is done. By not doing
anything it is possible the baby will die in utero or be born with
serious medical complications and may not survive long. But also, by
not doing something it is possible the kidney swelling could go down.
The doctor just doesn't know--it is not possible to know what could/
will happen. Any prayers or sacrifices you could offer for the baby
and us--we named her Marita (Mary and St. Rita combined) would be
greatly appreciated. We are being scheduled for a second opinion from
another doctor soon. If you belong to other prayer chains and could
pass this intention along, that would be great. We are praying for a
miracle but more importantly the strength to accept God's will.
Christine
As many of you already know there have been some concerns over the
baby I am carrying--I am about 25 weeks along. 4 weeks ago I had an
ultrasound done that showed that the baby had only one functioning
kidney and had a 1 in 13 chance of Downs syndrome. Well, yesterday we
had another ultrasound done and it didn't look good. The kidney has
swollen and is blocked. This is causing the other organs to be pushed
out of place, the heart to work harder and the lungs will not be able
to fully develop. The doctor can go in and try to drain the kidney
but feels that it would just fill right back up and there is a high
danger of killing the baby if this procedure is done. By not doing
anything it is possible the baby will die in utero or be born with
serious medical complications and may not survive long. But also, by
not doing something it is possible the kidney swelling could go down.
The doctor just doesn't know--it is not possible to know what could/
will happen. Any prayers or sacrifices you could offer for the baby
and us--we named her Marita (Mary and St. Rita combined) would be
greatly appreciated. We are being scheduled for a second opinion from
another doctor soon. If you belong to other prayer chains and could
pass this intention along, that would be great. We are praying for a
miracle but more importantly the strength to accept God's will.
Christine
6/01/2009
Comfort In the the Words of Al Kresta
I have been so disturbed and upset by the murder of abortionist George Tiller and the subsequent backlash on the pro-life community. A short while ago I received this email and want to share.
Leading Abortionist Murdered
May 31, 2009
Al Kresta
Years ago, I debated the defrocked and excommunicated Presbyterian pastor Paul Hill (1954-2003) over the question of whether or not killing abortionists was justifiable homicide. In short, I argued “Absolutely not.” He argued that he was obligated to protect the unborn by killing their murderers and thus preventing further abortions.
Paul Hill wasn’t insane or even “mean.” Rather he was in the grip of an abbreviated logic. He reasoned that since abortionists kill children then by killing abortionists we will save children.
As a moral theologian and pastor, Hill was wrong and convinced almost nobody. When it was clear that pro-life people dismissed his argument as grossly inconsistent with the moral law, he went out and killed an abortionist and his escort and wounded the abortionist’s wife. Paul Hill was arrested, convicted and, in September 2003, executed for their murder. He never publicly repented and perished in his folly imagining himself a martyr and leader: “While most Christians firmly profess the duty to defend born children with force…most of these professors have neglected the duty to similarly defend the unborn…I was certain that if I took my stand at this point, others would join with me, and the Lord would eventually bring about a great victory.” As an activist and prophet, he was also dead wrong.
He failed to see two obvious truths:
- There are many non-violent ways to stop abortions.
- Every act of abortion has multiple accomplices. Each accomplice bears differing degrees of culpability. Why should Hill’s logic stop at the abortionist and not with others who make his work possible including local law enforcement that protects clinics?
How about the one person most obviously standing between the abortionist and the preborn: the mother. Mothers call for abortions. Tiller provided them a service for a fee. As long as mothers want to get rid of a pregnancy, there will be abortions. As long as men want sex without relationships, there will be prostitutes. Both advocates for abortion and prostitution are willing to take the cash and call it empowerment for women. This doesn’t mean the law should permit either abortion or prostitution. It does recognize that we won’t get rid of depersonalized sex by killing prostitutes and we won’t end abortion by eliminating abortionists.
Absurdity as well as tragedy stain his position. Yes, abortion is a form of child-murder. But it is murder carried out with the consent of the mother uninformed as she may be. Hill, to be consistent, should have advocated the use of proportionate force to stop abortions. Following his twisted logic, he should have forcibly stopped mothers from entering clinics and, when persuasion finally failed, anesthetized her and removed the innocent child by C-section. After all, isn’t this a more justifiable use of force? Nobody gets killed. Of course, this is morally repulsive.
Killing abortionists doesn’t save lives. It takes lives. It is murder. It usurps the authority of the state by pretending to mete out justice to evildoers. It is vigilantism and diminishes respect for the rule of law.
If the moral arguments aren’t clear then the public relations argument should be. While the law needn’t permit mothers to kill their children, neither is the law enough to make mothers want to avoid abortion. For that, it is necessary to turn the heart of the mother toward her child. Paul Hill turned hearts in the wrong direction. He created unnecessary sympathy for the pro-abortion regime.
In all likelihood Tiller’s killer has not prevented the death of children. More likely, he has further hardened America ’s heart against the unborn (who people can’t see) by generating sympathy for abortionists (who people can see). His act distorts the truth because it shows blood on the wrong hands. Good heavens, he was shot to death ushering in his church. Absurd.
As Fr. Pavone has written: “At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post- abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution. We should not jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.” I agree. Regardless of motive, however, Tiller’s death is an unjustifiable act of murder. His widow is bereft. His soul needs our prayers for the mercy he thought he was showing mothers but denying to their children. Tiller had mugs inscribed with the motto: “Trust women.” As an active churchgoer, it should have been “Trust God.”
Leading Abortionist Murdered
May 31, 2009
Al Kresta
Years ago, I debated the defrocked and excommunicated Presbyterian pastor Paul Hill (1954-2003) over the question of whether or not killing abortionists was justifiable homicide. In short, I argued “Absolutely not.” He argued that he was obligated to protect the unborn by killing their murderers and thus preventing further abortions.
Paul Hill wasn’t insane or even “mean.” Rather he was in the grip of an abbreviated logic. He reasoned that since abortionists kill children then by killing abortionists we will save children.
As a moral theologian and pastor, Hill was wrong and convinced almost nobody. When it was clear that pro-life people dismissed his argument as grossly inconsistent with the moral law, he went out and killed an abortionist and his escort and wounded the abortionist’s wife. Paul Hill was arrested, convicted and, in September 2003, executed for their murder. He never publicly repented and perished in his folly imagining himself a martyr and leader: “While most Christians firmly profess the duty to defend born children with force…most of these professors have neglected the duty to similarly defend the unborn…I was certain that if I took my stand at this point, others would join with me, and the Lord would eventually bring about a great victory.” As an activist and prophet, he was also dead wrong.
He failed to see two obvious truths:
- There are many non-violent ways to stop abortions.
- Every act of abortion has multiple accomplices. Each accomplice bears differing degrees of culpability. Why should Hill’s logic stop at the abortionist and not with others who make his work possible including local law enforcement that protects clinics?
How about the one person most obviously standing between the abortionist and the preborn: the mother. Mothers call for abortions. Tiller provided them a service for a fee. As long as mothers want to get rid of a pregnancy, there will be abortions. As long as men want sex without relationships, there will be prostitutes. Both advocates for abortion and prostitution are willing to take the cash and call it empowerment for women. This doesn’t mean the law should permit either abortion or prostitution. It does recognize that we won’t get rid of depersonalized sex by killing prostitutes and we won’t end abortion by eliminating abortionists.
Absurdity as well as tragedy stain his position. Yes, abortion is a form of child-murder. But it is murder carried out with the consent of the mother uninformed as she may be. Hill, to be consistent, should have advocated the use of proportionate force to stop abortions. Following his twisted logic, he should have forcibly stopped mothers from entering clinics and, when persuasion finally failed, anesthetized her and removed the innocent child by C-section. After all, isn’t this a more justifiable use of force? Nobody gets killed. Of course, this is morally repulsive.
Killing abortionists doesn’t save lives. It takes lives. It is murder. It usurps the authority of the state by pretending to mete out justice to evildoers. It is vigilantism and diminishes respect for the rule of law.
If the moral arguments aren’t clear then the public relations argument should be. While the law needn’t permit mothers to kill their children, neither is the law enough to make mothers want to avoid abortion. For that, it is necessary to turn the heart of the mother toward her child. Paul Hill turned hearts in the wrong direction. He created unnecessary sympathy for the pro-abortion regime.
In all likelihood Tiller’s killer has not prevented the death of children. More likely, he has further hardened America ’s heart against the unborn (who people can’t see) by generating sympathy for abortionists (who people can see). His act distorts the truth because it shows blood on the wrong hands. Good heavens, he was shot to death ushering in his church. Absurd.
As Fr. Pavone has written: “At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post- abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution. We should not jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.” I agree. Regardless of motive, however, Tiller’s death is an unjustifiable act of murder. His widow is bereft. His soul needs our prayers for the mercy he thought he was showing mothers but denying to their children. Tiller had mugs inscribed with the motto: “Trust women.” As an active churchgoer, it should have been “Trust God.”
11/26/2008
11/04/2008
The Polls Are Almost Closed
I've stayed away from politics in this forum, but I can't help but express sadness over where it appears that this election is heading. I'm not too keen on either candidate, but I could ABSOLUTELY NOT vote for Barack Obama, and his very radical support of abortion. He states that “the first thing I’d do as president“ would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would overturn every local, state, and federal abortion law passed in the past 35 years." More can be seen here regarding his opposition to legislation which would protect and provide medical care to infants who are born alive during a botched abortions.
While the economy is teetering on the edge, and our education system needs an overhaul, and the war in Iraq needs to end, nothing....NOTHING can be more important than protecting the most vulnerable little lives. It's very sad to think of the hundreds of thousands of babies that will loose their lives while he is in office. God help us!
While the economy is teetering on the edge, and our education system needs an overhaul, and the war in Iraq needs to end, nothing....NOTHING can be more important than protecting the most vulnerable little lives. It's very sad to think of the hundreds of thousands of babies that will loose their lives while he is in office. God help us!
8/28/2008
Inspiration Beyond Belief
I was given (well, lent) this book by a friend over a year ago. She had seen the author speak at a local event, and was so moved by her appearance and the book that she insist I read it. The plan was to read it during my maternity leave, as this happened days before I had Linus. Well, I started it twice, and just never got farther than the 10th page or so. I believe that the internet is to blame for my now lazy style of reading; scanning quickly to find the bits and pieces of information that I'm seeking.
For whatever reason, I put it in my bag as we left to go spend 5 days at my in-laws, and managed to get 50 or 60 pages in during the drive. I found I had to re-train myself to read properly. At about page 40, I finally realized that I was skimming, and missing vital details. I consciously slowed down, and realized that this story deserved my full attention.
Over a year after being given this book, I believe that God inspired me to finally pick it up and read it. 2 days after finishing the book, I was laid off from a job that I've had for almost 5 years. It was a job that I enjoyed, and one that was vital to the economic well-being of our family.
I believe that reading Imaculee's story has altered the way that I'm handling this obstacle, and actually, not seeing so much as an obstacle, but rather a blessing...an open door...an opportunity...a slap on the face. Call it what you will, my heart and mind is open...speak to me Lord.
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