Change is More than an Amendment

     Well, here goes.  I am not what I would consider a "political" person.  It all makes me kinda dizzy.  This post isn't really about laws or voting although I will touch on it briefly.  I felt the Spirit stirring this one in me this morning and thought it wise to write (type) it down.
      So..........Abortion.  That word that brings up so much debate and emotion.  I'll be the first to admit that when I was 18 years old I believed wholeheartedly that abortion was absolutely, horrifically wrong and that anyone who would do it was committing a heinous act.  It was pretty cut and dry to me - Murder is wrong.  Abortion is murder.  Therefore abortion is wrong.  It was astounding to me that everyone didn't see it as black and white as I was able to in all my young wisdom.  Stay with me here.
     Now that I am a lot older and hopefully at least a little bit wiser I realize the broad and extreme problem that is the issue of abortion.  I realize that it isn't a simple issue AT ALL.  I realize that being pregnant is sooooo hard even in the best of circumstances.  I realize that raising children is even harder.  I realize that some people literally cannot feed the children they have already.  I realize that some women are pregnant by a man that abuses them, and some girls just want to pass the 10th grade before becoming a mother. I realize that our economy would be greatly affected by all of these babies being born into families that can't afford to support them.  I realize that so many women and honestly girls feel so trapped and scared and helpless when they realize they are pregnant.  This issue is anything but easy to resolve.  I get that now. 
     Incidentally, I still believe that abortion is the wrong call in all of these situations.  I still believe that God's word is the rock solid truth on which I place my life.  I still believe that it is best for all parties if a baby's life is spared.  However, here is what I believe now also.
     That same word of God that calls us to value human life calls us to be the ones who support these women who need help.  The only answer to this extremely complex issue of abortion is LOVE.  LOVE.  It is the most powerful word I know. God is LOVE.  God has filled his people with it and calls us to extend it.  So that means we support the single mom who chose to keep her baby in any way that we can.  That means we invite the pregnant woman who has no where to go to stay with us.  That means that we embrace our children when they make terrible mistakes instead of casting them off.  It means that we open our churches and our hearts to people who don't look like us or act like us or have the background that we do.  It means that we embrace the woman that is grieving an abortion she previously had and assure her that she is loved by God and He alone will make her whole again.  It means that we stand hand in hand with anyone who is brave enough to give birth to a child and let another family raise him or her.  It means that we don't gossip and shake our heads.  We run to be in the middle of the mess and help these women.   It means that we extend the same grace to these women, both those who carried and those who aborted, that Jesus Christ extends to us EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  It means that we don't get to decide the intention of someone else's heart, but we sure can intention our own to LOVE LIKE JESUS. 
     If you live in the Nashville area there is amazing organization called Hope Clinic that is doing exactly this for women and girls in this situation every day.  They counsel hundreds of girls and women each year offering them health care, ultrasounds, parenting classes, maternity clothes, baby supplies, resources, and most importantly HOPE and LOVE.  They also provide counseling to those who have had abortions and are dealing with the psychological pain that comes along with that.  It is a place of love, and I feel like Jesus would hang out there were He here today.  And, really, He already does.  If you want to "amend" our state when it comes to abortion support this place.  Support them with time, money, donations, any way that you can.  Or find another way to help these women and men who are in seemingly hopeless situations.  Here is the link to their website: http://www.hopeclinicforwomen.org/  Check it out. 
      Sooooo, when I go to the polls today I will vote yes for amendment 1.  I have researched it and learned about it and I believe that it is what is best for babies and women and men and our state as a whole.  It is my given right to make that vote.  You have to right to make your own.  But whether or not you choose to amend the law please join me in praying that we amend our hearts.  I am preaching to myself here.  I need to be more involved in helping these families and loving them.  People of Jesus, let's amend our state!  Starting with ourselves.