Driving to drop my daughter off to school on a recent morning you could barely see the road. The fog was like a heavy thick blanket covering the air. Even as the sun came up that day on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I could not see anything as I gazed out my kitchen window. Normally, we have a beautiful view of the sunrise peaking up over the mountains.
The view of the thick fog reminds me of the work our team at the Pregnancy Resource Center in Maryville, TN, gets to do on a daily basis.
We get to speak to clients as if the fog has lifted and they are no longer in crisis.
We speak to the woman we know they are. They are strong and capable, and they have a whole community that will walk with them during and after their pregnancy.
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Women that face difficult pregnancy decisions are often in a crisis. Much like the thick fog that morning, they have this heavy weight encompassing them. They cannot see past the current circumstance.
Some common scenarios we hear are:
“I cannot have a child right now.”
“It is not the right time.”
“I have a small apartment and there is no room.”
These are just temporary circumstances.
We have had this horrible landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling that abortion is a right found in the Constitution, since January 22, 1973.
Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., touts that this dreadful day affirmed that access to safe and legal abortion is a constitutional right.
Abortion is not safe, as an innocent human being dies during the procedure. It is heavy stuff and January 22 should be a day where we mourn the 62+ million lives lost to abortion in the United States since 1973.
Women and men often look at a difficult pregnancy decision as if it’s a thick fog, a problem for which they just need a quick way out. In the moment of panic, they search for help and many of times end up at an abortion facility to solve the perceived problem. The abortion industry will highlight this fog in which our clients find themselves and point to a supposed quick solution.
We have seen and served the very women who were lied to by the abortion industry in this regard.
They have told them to take the abortion pill and all their difficulties will be gone. The fog will be lifted, and you will be able to move on with your life.
For many women that is not the case. Their pregnancy isn’t just tissue to pass.
Many women have had to find out the hard way as they are left to face the “taking care of this problem” alone in their own homes. It becomes a nightmare they will have to visually remember. They realize in that moment as they see that the tissue is indeed a baby that the abortion industry lied to them. They realize in that moment they cannot undo the decision they have made, and they are devastated.
We are thankful for pregnancy centers like ours that offer abortion recovery groups to walk men and women towards healing. There are many abortion recovery groups that men and women can connect to such as www.supportafterabortion.com or www.godeeperstill.com. A true light in the darkness.
When women search for abortion or ask around for places where they can go for help in an unplanned pregnancy, life-affirming centers need to be that first choice.
Our pregnancy center and many like ours across the globe are that safe, life-affirming place. We are the vision casters of that individual’s future.
We share truth in love with them as they get to see life—their baby on the ultrasound screen.
Our medical team and volunteer advocates speak to our brave moms as if the fog has lifted, because the fog will lift, and when it does, the moms and dads will be so thankful that they had someone speak to them and let them visualize the beautiful sunrise over the mountains as the fog dissipates.
They have had time for the pressure of a difficult decision to fade and be so grateful that they didn’t make a quick decision. They’ve had time for someone to calm their fears and speak life into them.
Let this day and every day be a reminder to speak as if the fog has lifted and the sun will rise, and moms and dads will have this beautiful view of a baby created in the image of our Creator.
We may be disappointed that we could not march for life in person this year, but we can do these three things to help women and men across our nation as they choose life for their babies.
We can pray and get connected to our local pregnancy center, asking if there are any specific prayer needs.
We can volunteer. Many pregnancy centers are shorthanded due to the pandemic and could use a dedicated person to devote a couple of hours a week to lighten the load.
We can give. If we look back in our check book over the year and add up all the little snack trips we made or dinners out, we can see that 2021 could be the year that we were intentional of skipping a meal out to save and impact lives.
It takes all of us to speak life into the future generations of our nation. Let’s all do at least a small part, and as we do it, we will make a huge impact on the lives in our communities.
