Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Oh, Daughters—She Could Have Been Our First Woman President



"Mama?" The one word that changed everything for me.

"Yes."

"Mama, I heard that women pilots in our nation's air force have really struggled with this issue. They can't fly in this condition, so some choose this course." 

Oh, Daughter.




I had just been in church, the pastor's words on freedom had taken my heart and mind soaring straight to this topic without him ever mentioning a single word about it. 

Why? I don't know. God in me, it had to be.

Because I have no personal experience with this topic. I bear many regretful choices from my teenage life, and I'm thankful this isn't on my list of regrets. But it could have been. Easily. So easily. 

Oh, Daughters.

I felt a whisper over my heart, "You better be brave, and bold, and obedient."

I've hemmed and hawed around ever since, in a feeble attempt to be brave, bold, and obedient. Weeks have passed. Writing and talking it out turns my legs to jello, my insides to mush, tears me apart, rips my heart apart. So please know I'm not judging, but breaking. 

I thought over it all.

Oh, Daughters, I need to tell you something. Because some things one never forgets.

That picture that sits in my bathroom, on the side of the tub? You know the one. The sole purpose of that picture was decoration. Me, the amateur photographer, imagine that. Some fifteen years ago. It seems like yesterday. The day I sat you girls in a bucket for a picture. The dog's water bucket, no less. You were in your pink swim suits, in the bathroom. Watermelon and polka dots. Cutest things. 

One goes in the bucket, then the other. Big sister's legs are getting long. Just drape them over the side. I position those tiny legs and feet. "Smile for me. Say 'cheese' ..." 

Big sister, make sure little sister ...




Some time after, my friend who owned an adoption agency wrote to me. "Shelli, watch this video."

Most people recycle plasticmilk jugs, sacks. Buckets, buckets, and more buckets.

I bend over, peering into the plastic to see something precious ...






Beautiful eyes, beautiful skin.

Little tiny baby legs, feet, arms, hands ...

And then my eyes become so clouded with tears I can no longer see.

My heart gasps and the sound spills out with my breath. My living breath. 

Oh, Daughters.

What could he have been? What could she have been? 

Google "baby in a bucket" ... then Google "aborted baby in a bucket" ... one tiny word changes everything.

And just allow those images to sink in, into the marrow of your bone, your soul.

One baby is sitting joyfully with a smile, covered in feathers or covered in a ballerina tu-tu, tulle ruffles, all pink. Happy. In the other picture, the baby is doubled over. Pale. Legs displaced. Organs displaced, delicate and private parts that should be covered. Crimson paints the body. The baby in a bucket, like something you'd only see in a prison encampment. In a horror film. That baby never had the chance to know happy on Earth, to be snuggled, to wear a onesie, to be burrito-wrapped in softness.

In a bucket. Some things deserve a beautiful burial.

Oh, Daughters.

That young woman thinks she's ejecting to safety, freedom, normalcy. And maybe she doesn't realize that though she'll be free of a live baby, she'll be placing herself in enemy territory. I won't pretend to know, but I hear it, read about it constantlythe pain, the torment, the regret.

No, don't Google. Don't allow those images to sink in. Because we get so accustomed to seeing the bad ... and then it means nothing to us. The images don't stir our heart, don't make us sick, don't break us, don't make us gasp, don't tear us apart.

The images should place our minds in a prison encampment forever. Maybe they do. Maybe they will.

Oh, Daughters, your sweet baby faces come to mind. 






And I thank God that two women gave you girls life. That they placed you girls' tiny infant feet and tiny chunky legs on the side of life. These two precious women, who weren't ready to be mothers, allowed someone else to be a mother. 

Me.






Because that baby in the bucket could have completed someone's family, someone's life, made a family of three, given a sibling ... could have changed everything for someone sunken low in the pit of infertility. 

Maybe the sole purpose of the situation is to keep another from loneliness, to bring life to the dead, to decorate someone's life. Only God knows. But know this

One's desperation could end another's desperation. 





I know life is messy, complicated, but it's worth it. The situation can't be kept a secret, because all secrets come out eventually. The closed always becomes disclosed. 

Oh, Daughters, I pray you never have to choose. I pray you always make wise choices. I pray you never hold a list of regrets.

But placing a baby is a critical choice. Fill arms, Daughters of this world, Daughters of the KingFill empty arms. Place that living, breathing child in living, loving arms, not plastic. That bucketI pray you never allow to be on your list of regrets. 

I pray you recognize there is no choice.






Because some things should never be recycled.

Oh, Daughters, freedom of choice is not free. It's never free to the one whose life was taken. The one who couldn't choose. Life or death. The one who can't speak "Mama" yet certainly can't speak "life" yet. 

What could that child have been? The bucket child. Could that tiny, beautiful baby have filled the position of our nation's first woman president? Just think of it. Can you imagine it?





Oh, Daughters. Where would I be without you?

And I know you. But what kind of mother would I be if I didn't say

Choose life. Choose adoption. Choose family. 

Always. For Life.

Choose ... 

One tiny word changes everything.


















15 comments:

  1. Beautifully expressed, Shelli.

    And that, dear heart, is why I wrote "Emerald Isle", of which one of the main themes is abortion.

    Not that I was ever party to one, but a large part of a lifetime ago I saw the lady who was carrying our child shot to death, and ever since, seeing a child, any child, through those lost growing-up years, wondered what might have been.

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    1. And yes, those who did it eventually had to atone for their actions. I rather doubt they enjoyed the process, but they do say that confession is good for the soul.

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    2. Andrew, thank you. You brought tears to my eyes for several reasons. First ... the hurt lady and baby ... and your injured self. And also because I was scared to death to push publish on this. I'm not very courageous, Andrew. I can't wait to read Emerald Isle. But also, I want you to know that you are family. Did you know that my girls love you? They pray for you. They ask about you. Yes, Andrew, you are family.

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    3. Shelli, you and your girls are in my prayers daily as well. Knowing you has helped me stay alive; you have given me hope and faith.

      And you're a durn sight braver than I ever was. I look up to you, and draw strength and hope from your words.

      And yes, you brought tears to me eyes with your reply. I am overwhelmed.

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    4. You help me stay alive, too, Andrew. You really do. You always offer hope and encouragement just when I need it.

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  2. Shelli, such an amazing, beautiful post. I love your words encouraging life. I am forever grateful to the two women who gave me the gift of motherhood. They didn't have to, but they cared about life. Though they couldn't raise their babies, they gave their babies (and this mama) an eternal gift.

    Your post moved me deeply, my friend.

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    1. Jeanne, thank you so much. This is such a tough subject, but wow, I wouldn't be a mother without "life." I love you, friend. xoxo

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  3. total body goosebumps, Shelli.

    Oh, Shelli, this is so powerful. I volunteered at a pregnancy resource center for 3 years. I'm with you in my heart.

    What a love-gift this post is. It came straight from the center of your heart.

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  4. So glad your girls are with you. Every now and then I feel compelled to pray some mornings for a stranger, someone who has a secret to tell her parents, or someone who has to admit an indiscrestion to their spouse or boyfriend. I pray for those on the verge of making that choice. Pray for someone to respond to them saying,"It'll be okay. We will be here for you." I think some do not want to choose to abort, but they fear someone, something if they tell or keep it. It is for the removal of that fear that I pray for. Those who administer this procedure prey on women when they are most vulnerable. Scared. Maybe alone. Maybe famous, but equally as vulnerable. May God have mercy on our nation.

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    1. Yes, Melodie. You gave me goose bumps. Oh, to hear in any situation: "It'll be okay. We will be here for you" ... yes. That's the hope everyone needs. Praying for the fear to be removed ... yes. Those around you are so blessed to have you in their lives. I'm so blessed, too. xoxo

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  5. Beautiful post. Adorable pictures. Heart-felt truth. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Gail, thank you so much for commenting. Your words mean so much.

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Blessed by you, Shelli