"How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods, and sees a brother or sister in need, and yet refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." [I John 3:16-18].
October commemorates Respect Life Month. It is a month that resonates with me. You see, when I turned thirteen, my grandmother and my mother sat me down in the kitchen of my home, and as they wished me Happy Birthday, they became sort of teary eyed. They told me that I was growing up, becoming a fine young woman. And that they never thought they would see this day -- because my mother almost died in childbirth and I almost died too!
That moment changed my life. With this news, I was forced to contemplate that I might never have been born at all! On my thirteenth birthday, I felt as if I had been born all over again. I was acutely aware of what an incredible gift I had been given.
Life becomes greatly more significant and precious, when you meditate on the hypothesis that you might never have been born at all. Even the worst days of your whole life are precious, simply because you are alive!
I wish the whole world could feel that elation at being alive, and that fierce determination to make your life count and really mean something!
There is a tiny, unassuming building in my area that embodies this dedication to the preciousness of life. It is a compact, tan brick building on a residential street, the kind of building you might totally miss if you did not know it was there. It is St. Agnes Home, a residential program for expectant mothers.
Perhaps some may blame these young women for their "predicament." I hope it is because people do not always see or understand their circumstances. These women may live in overcrowded and substandard housing. They may have become estranged from any family, because of their "mistake". They may have had to interrupt their education or had to quit work because of their pregnancy.
These women are often teens with few resources. They have made the courageous decision to honor life by bringing their babies into this world. These women deserve our help, not our condemnation.
I like to call St. Agnes Home a tiny powerhouse. From the street, it looks so small, and yet, inside, there are bedrooms for 16 young women. There is a licensed daycare so that the women can go to school. There is a small school on the premises, with three classrooms and a computer room, for women who need more academic support than is offered in a community school. There are licensed RN's on staff who make sure that mother and baby are receiving the proper nutrition and health advice. There is even a thriving vegetable garden in the back yard.
So, someone may say, there are only 16 young women who are in residence. Why bother when you can help so few? To that, I say, God helps us all, one at a time. Every time a mother is rescued, her baby is rescued at the same time.
As I delved into the history of St. Agnes, I realized that they have been in existence since 1914! In their previous facility, there were 120 rooms and four stories. That adds up to hundreds of precious babies and their mothers, getting the help that they need.
Some may say, so what, you get the young mother and her baby through the first year of the baby's life, and then what?
I would like you to hear the story of Shanda. She came to the home at age 14, pregnant and scared. Her mother was abusing drugs. She was being raised by her grandmother. There were 10-12 kids in the house. When she found out that she was pregnant, she describes herself as "devastated". She was too ashamed to continue going to school. Her neighborhood was violent -- no place to raise a baby.
With the help of St. Agnes Home, she earned her high school degree. Her average in her senior year was a 4.0! She went on to college. After college, she earned her Masters in Social Work. Now she is not only supporting herself, she is able to give back and help others.
We have so many issues in our modern life: drug abuse, child abuse, poverty, terrorism, pollution, joblessness. We cannot afford to neglect the next generation. They ARE our future!
God, my life is precious. All life is precious! May I speak this with my lips, but also prove it with my love.
(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2011. All Rights Reserved.
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