Grieving!

I  woke up after hearing the news and thought, “I must have dreamed it.” But no, I didn’t dream it, it was right there on the news again. With one stroke of a pen, it had now become legal in the state of New York, even 24 hours before a mother would have given birth, to get an abortion. My heart could not wrap around this news. A mom would still go through delivery, yet now her baby would be born dead due to the prior abortion process; this could not be real. No wonder it was a restless night. Grieving had begun!

Grief is never an invited guest. At least, I have never put out the welcome mat and said, “come on in,” and this last week was no different. Yet it arrived abruptly! And I might add, it arrived without any warning as I listened to the various media accounts of what took place. A man, I do not even know, with his own signature, signed away the future lives of thousands of innocent babies. People celebrated! My mouth hung open. This was a startling and crass sight that brought grief into our home, as it seemed to have done to many others.

With an outpouring of heartfelt sorrow, a nation reacted. A law in one state, was forced upon us as a whole. It is changing our character, it’s opening wounds, and it will leave severed ties, no doubt. This mark on our nation is not for our betterment. Sadly, it will be one that will go down in the history of our country as a turning point. One where life was once again demoted. To our shame, that is now the headline of a once great nation.

Life is precious, it is a gift from God. That was once the premise and standard of who we were as individuals and as a nation. Women were cherished, as was the life they were getting ready to bring forth, but that has now become divisive. How sad for us! How sad for our children, the ones of today, and the ones who would have been here tomorrow.

 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
(Psalm 139: 13-16 NASB)

From every angle this event has broken hearts and grieved many. So where do we start, what is the first step so that we can begin to mend? As I ask myself this question, this old song came to mind. It begins like this, “If my people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, shall humble themselves and pray…

If My people who are called by My name
will humble themselves, and pray
and seek My face,
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

(2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)