life.

the bible tells us in jeremiah 1:5 "before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." do you believe that to be Truth?

i do. 

yesterday was sanctity of life sunday. according to wikepedia {which know is always accurate & reliable, right?} "In a January 13, 1984 proclamation, President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The date was chosen to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that first recognized the constitutionally-protected status of abortion in the United States.^[1]"

our pastor preached out boldly yesterday. and my heart ached.

he brought not-so-startling statistics regarding abortion & the abused. not startling but certainly alarming. and my heart ached.

he talked about how the Lord creates every life for His purpose. for His glory. and that we, as a society, view life & children very nonchalantly. and my heart ached.

my heart aches for the children that have been aborted. who were never given the chance to live their life. the life that, i believe, the Lord intended for them to live - but also knowing their ultimate fate.

my heart aches for the children who are unwanted. the ones who are unloved, abused or discarded. the orphans. the ones who have parents who honestly love them, but are in situations that they cannot get "straightened out", for lack of a better term, and therefore cannot care adequately for them.

i left the sermon feeling broken.

i know that my beliefs are certainly rooted in my faith. and our argument of when life begins will differ if you and i do not share the same faith. and that is okay.  one thing that is wonderful about living in america is that we have the ability to disagree. and that is wonderful.

i want my views and opinions to be challenged. there are certainly issues that i am not 100% educated about. there are issues that i do not feel as strongly about and there are ones that i am open to other people's concerns about.

but this. this one is not one of them. i have prayed and prayed about it for years. it's an issue that has been on my heart from the time i was in college. i read a book that rocked my views about choice and "women's rights".

i realized that God has a plan for every life. every. single. one. and yes, you might be in a tough place. one that i cannot comprehend or imagine. and i cannot promise you that there aren't consequences no matter what you choose but i can promise you this.

that God loves you. God loves your children. He has a plan for your child.  so much greater than what our plans could ever be. give Him a chance.

the hubbs & i know that we will adopt some day. there is a hole the size of texas in my heart, that grows by the day, waiting to be filled by a child {or children!} that are not biologically our own. there are SO many children that are neglected and tossed away in foreign countries. their view of children is minimal and thus so is their treatment.

i have met some of these children that have been rescued. that the Lord has so graciously placed into the arms of families we love & therefore these children are now children that we love. we are so inspired by the families that have stepped up to the plate and answered the Lord's call on their lives.

while i wish that we could give EVERY child a home, my eyes have been opened to the fact that there are so many children here - in my suburb of plano - that are neglected, unwanted, abused & abandoned. there are oh so many that are NOT LOVED. can you imagine that? a child in their own home not feeling love from their own mother or father? feeling discarded and lonely? my heart aches. i have cried many tears over these children.

and the more j. and i pray about it, the more we feel called here. to serve, to learn more, to simply care. there are so many ways to help. i feel very strongly about the foster care system. a social services lawyer told me last year that once children hit 2 years old their likelihood of finding permanent homes goes down dramatically. at 2 years old?

my daughter is 2. i cannot imagine her permanently floating from house to house hoping for someone to latch onto her. care for her. bring her up in the ways of the Lord. someone to play dress up with. someone to braid her hair. someone to read stories with. someone to hold her at night time when she has a scary dream. someone to rock her to sleep.....

these children are innocent. they have not made these choices. their parents have either made poor choices are simply have found themselves in a terrible situation.

either way. these children are out there and WE can help. 

i know that it is not yet our time to adopt. i know we will be there some day. but what can i do now? what can i do to not simply be "anti-abortion" or "anti-choice" but to be PRO-life, PRO-children?

there are SO many things.

i am in plano and there is a wonderful advocacy center here for children. i have met some of the wonderful women who work here and i need to take a tour. my husband has and it changed him. that's why i've been putting it off, i guess. there's no way i'll be able to walk through and NOT be emotional about it. i'd want to come home with a child every time i went. look up your town and see if there is an advocacy center. there are so many ways to volunteer. you can help with administrative stuff if you don't think you can handle the child interaction. they need all sorts of help - and donations - not just monetary.

our church also has a WONDERFUL pregnancy center. i have wanted to be a volunteer here for such a long time. my time does not allow it at the moment with two littles at home. however, like i said before, you can volunteer from your house! i've called through lists they provided to ask for sponsorships for their benefits. i've stuffed envelopes. i've sent out emails. a few years ago, we took on a little cookbook project in which we were able to donate $3,000 dollars to the pregnancy center as a group of women.

i promise if you pray for a way to promote life, the Lord will give you a way. 

please know, that if you find yourself in a desperate situation, there is hope. there ARE options - even if you don't feel like there are. the way that seems easiest right now just might be the hardest in the long run. i serve a God of grace, mercy, healing, forgiveness. you are NOT alone. He is with you - even in your darkest moments. reach out to someone for help. for guidance. wisdom.