photo courtesy of Justice For All
Sometimes when I’m surrounded by hundreds of college students at a JFA outreach, it’s too easy to abandon a conversation in search of a “better” one. Take my conversation with Charlie for example. As Charlie walked by the poll table, I invited him to consider our question…
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This summer three of my siblings and my dad visited me in Kansas. Here we are beneath the Keeper of the Plains statue (the site of the story I relate in this month’s newsletter).
In last month’s newsletter I encouraged you to go beyond simply being outraged about abortion and instead reach out to someone who might think that abortion is not wrong. School isn’t in session right now, so JFA focuses more time on preparations for the coming year than on our outreach events on university campuses. I didn’t let that stop me from having conversations about abortion, though. My coworker Eva and I went down to the Arkansas River with a survey about the Planned Parenthood videos to talk with people about abortion. I wrote a poem about one of our encounters…
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photo courtesy of Justice For All
My heart is heavy.
In the past few weeks my Facebook feed has exploded with discussion of four videos in which Planned Parenthood representatives converse about body parts from aborted babies destined to be used for research. I won’t comment here on the allegations that Planned Parenthood has broken the law, but I do want to comment on something that hasn’t gotten enough attention amid the stir surrounding the videos…
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mama’s thirtieth birthday was special
but what I remember most isn’t the golden crown, cake, or icecream
what I remember most is mama’s body
mama’s body, great with child
I thought it was beautiful
and I knew it was a miracle
I remembered being three
when mama told me she couldn’t carry babies
her body rebelled against her desires
but God crafted a miracle
through a little girl’s prayer (my prayer)
and gave not just one, but two babies
the first came when mama was twenty-seven
the next, two weeks after mama’s thirtieth birthday
two sisters for the girl who was supposed to be alone
three daughters for a mama whose body
rebelled against her desires
this body that seemed too weak to carry a baby, carried three
and continues to carry them
at first, she carried us in her womb
then in her arms
she still carries us
even though so often our bodies are far from hers
she carries us in her heart
sometimes I hate my body
it’s weak, and that isn’t its only flaw
some of its flaws were inherited from mama
…inherited from mama…
my body came from hers
perhaps mine could be as beautiful as hers
I look at my body again and smile
because my body came from my mama’s
and mama’s body is beautiful
photo courtesy of Justice For All
This year I’ve learned that when God asks us to do something, He provides the strength to do it.
It was hard to uproot myself and move to a new place a year ago, but the JFA team welcomed me with open arms and helped me to transition into this season of my life. God has shown Himself faithful, empowering me to do what I couldn’t do alone. For example, giving me the discernment to balance love and truth with a hurting student named Blake at the end of a tiring day of outreach at UCLA…
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