Today is the day we call Mother’s Day. A tricky subject for a blog that reflects on the nature of what abortion is and does. For the record, I think it is a very barbaric culture that sets up special clinics in which we kill people at the sole discretion of the one person who should protect them. It’s this reality that so many women are grappling with this Mother’s Day. So what to do?
I suppose in each and every circumstance I see the possibility of redemption. And if I didn’t, I wouldn’t bother with this pro-life stuff. I am not in the business of ranking mistakes. I am not in the business of shaming people for things they have done or are doing. I am in the business, in some odd, idealistic way, of letting light shine brightly where it can. Perhaps I have no success with this whatsoever but apparently I can do no other.
Lots of women who were mothers aren’t anymore. Lots of women who are mothers, wish they weren’t. Lots of women wish they could be mothers, who aren’t. Lots of women are pretending they don’t want to be mothers. Lots of women say they never want to be mothers at all, and then are the very best kind and are totally thrilled with it.
At the end of the day, the pro-life story is one of redemption and hope. It’s the epic story that can be told because the story does not end with death–neither that of the mother, nor the child. I believe women can and should lean into their own best versions of themselves. That they can and do overcome the short term suffering of an unplanned pregnancy to do good for another. They can live, not as a “prisoner to their biology” but as a person who does what is selfless and hard for her child, no matter how accidental.
At the end of the day, my life philosophy is simple. Some things are not a choice. And we see this very clearly in almost every instance but abortion.
A blog like this can’t have a happy-clappy, Hallmark Mother’s Day greeting. Yet I’d hazard to say there are many women out there today who are not looking for that, but rather, since they have their own hard pasts and presents to deal with, might do better with a more sombre reflection. I suppose the less sombre thing is to look to a brighter future. And on the life file, I am hopeful like on no other.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day to Jennifer who just gave birth to her third daughter. Congratulations Jennifer.