Monday, January 22, 2007

Divine Appointment

My husband Bob and I went out to dinner on Friday. For some reason, he suggested going to a steakhouse near our old neighborhood. When we were seated, the waitress came by to get our drink order. As she was going to get the drinks, Bob commented that she looked really familiar. When she returned, I took a better look at her face and realized she was our old neighbor - our children were playmates in grade school.

After we got caught up on what all our kids are doing now, her face suddenly became serious. "I remember that I came to talk to you when I got pregnant and the baby's father insisted I have an abortion."

My mind flashed back to a vivid memory. A friend from church, who was also a neighbor, had persuaded her to come to my house and talk about her crisis. After talking, she decided to keep the baby, but a few days later, she had a miscarriage. Then she was very upset about losing the baby. Shortly afterward, she started coming to our church.

Now, face to face with her on Friday, she knew exactly how long it had been - 25 years. It was as if she knew how old the baby would be, had it survived. She said, "Do you remember what you said to me? You told me God had helped me raise four children and he would help me with this one too." That was the turning point for her. She went home determined to go through with the pregnancy. Her boyfriend, who was whacked out on drugs, came home and found out she hadn't had the abortion. He beat her so badly that she miscarried three days later. (That was a detail I never knew till now).

Somehow it seemed worth it to her - to be beaten rather than to willingly take her baby's life. Her conscience was clear.

On the way to work today, I heard on the radio that this is the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's decision to legalize abortion on demand. During those 34 years, 48,000,000 babies have been aborted.