Children are our light

 

My dear children,

The world is a beautiful place, but in the midst of its beauty you will find darkness.  As any glorious and flowering rose bush will testify, there are thorns hidden that will pierce our flesh if we are not careful as we stoop to enjoy its scent. So it is with our world and I would fail as a mother if I did not show you how to enjoy the roses that surround us yet alerting you of its ability to take away our soul if we are not careful.

In Spanish there is a phrase for when a woman is expecting to give birth, you may have heard it; “dar a luz”.  Literally translated this means “to give light”.  What a beautiful phrase to describe what will happen at the moment of birth, a light is brought into the world in the form of a little baby. A baby, no matter how it may look or how “productive” it may be in our world is still a light.  That is our ultimate purpose: to be a light and to perpetuate that light!

Having gone through four pregnancies always gave me pause to reevaluate life. I did not think of the 8 week old being inside of me as “fetus”, I thought of you as “my light” and I didn’t want to lose you. I remember seeing the ultrasound image of one of you at 12 weeks old, being told I was miscarrying. I remember your little limbs moving around and you seemed so content in your warm watery home. (And yes, once you were older you were the one that never could walk without skipping.) With each pregnancy and labor and even soon after birth we faced dangers and near death experiences, and yet miracles occurred that allowed each of you to be a unique light in our world.

I understand that there are many who would argue with me on this point; they are convinced that had I been pregnant under other circumstance perhaps I would have celebrated your passing.  The world convinces us that if something is not perfect, it should not have a chance at existing; that suffering has no meaning.

There was a time in my young life when I was in a life or death situation. I had been abducted and was struggling for my life and I considered killing my deranged attacker, (it would have been legal and justified) and yet, even in that moment, I couldn’t do it and threw down what would have been my weapon and was able to escape (another miracle).  So, I know what it is like to have that instinct to kill. It is frightening to know what I am capable of, and I know that such decisions are never “easy” or “simple”. 

Today one thorn is our society who has accepted the arguments for “choice”.  It is a woman’s choice to “give light or destroy it”. 

So today, as we “celebrate” the 40^th year of the Roe v. Wade law, I say to you, my lights, beware of the thorns!  The rose bush is only made more beautiful by your light. Always be courageous and bold as light. The right to live is a matter of liberty and justice for all, let no one convince you otherwise.  I pray that you will always be true to the One who breathed in you his Ruah,  through this your light will always shine.  

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalms 139:13