Zoe To You

Today I learned an interesting Greek word for life: Zoe (pronounced zo-ay). Perhaps we shouldn’t say fetus or unborn child is in a pregnant woman’s womb, but rather Zoe – life.

“I’m carrying zoe”- the state of being possessed of vitality. What a privilege! Four times I was a life carrier.

As such I became part of the chain of humanity, a maker of a generation. My thoughts jumble when I search for words to say what this means to me even as I sadly recognize that many women desired but have not been given this joy. (Although I believe God often blesses them in other ways as life-givers.) Tragically some women choose to destroy the new life within them.

I understand the abortion dilemma very well.  I nearly had one.

Perhaps I should speak of it again.  In 1971, I was pregnant with our fourth child. After having been advised by my doctor another child would likely be mentally handicapped due to my RH blood problem and also I might die during childbirth from hemorrhaging as I nearly did during my third child’s birth. Two huge problems! Logically, medically abortion seemed wise.

I later wrote a magazine article about this event. The quotes that follow are from the article that appeared in 1991. I describe the depression that engulfed me as I faced the possibility of two horrible outcomes. “The most significant argument of all against this pregnancy was our three children; I knew that I didn’t want to leave them motherless.”

“One question kept disturbing me. Was this pregnancy an accident, or was it the hand of God directing my life?” A friend came over and helped me wrestle through my decision. “Finally with quietness and confidence I chose to place my trust in God. If it were time for me to die, I would; if I would have to rear a brain-damaged child, I could. I would not destroy this new life within me! As for my “career” it wasn’t worth the life of our child.”

 “On March 27, 1972 Daniel Thomas was born. He was named Daniel after that great man of God whose trust in God never failed and Thomas for his mother who’d had to overcome doubt before she could fully trust. …Far from being brain-damaged Daniel was a bright student and an excellent athlete. Looking back, the interruption in my career was brief and barely noticeable from the perspective of a lifetime. How can I compare that to the life of my son?”

Every day since my voice feels compelled to speak out against the slaughter of beautiful human children.

I’ve counseled women who have had abortions and God’s amazing forgiveness is always available for them. This isn’t about that. It’s about my friends who think abortion is a good thing, a woman’s “right.”

The truth is we women cannot do what we please with our bodies. We cannot drive through stop signs or dance naked in the park. Life is full of consequences that we must accept when we select our behaviors. We cannot kill the innocent and call a child’s life an inconvenience.

The real war on women is that approximately half of 56 million total abortions or about 28 million women have never been given a chance to live their lives.

I find it of interest that Planned Parenthood, a non-profit, gets massive taxpayer money to run yet it brings in over a billion dollars annually. This past year President Cecile Richards’ salary jumped from $523,616 to nearly $591,000, a $67,000 raise.  More profit from babies’ body part fees for “transportation and storage?”

Also Planned Parenthood as a non-profit ended their fiscal year with $582 million in excess revenue and $1.3 billion in net assets.  Aren’t non-profits supposed to use their funds for those they serve? Is Planned Parenthood a non-profit that meets the criteria for wise use of assets and reasonable salaries or a big business with big profits for those at the helm?

I hope and pray all funding for Planned Parenthood will end. We have other wonderful women’s health services in place that don’t involve aborting babies and selling human bodies.

With tears I implore moms-to-be who are considering abortion to stop and think, pray and wait. Other women’s hearts yearn for your baby, your Zoe, if you can’t handle being a mom right now. Don’t, please don’t, kill your baby.

Watching our son Dan mature has been all the more treasured because of my decision over forty years ago that meant his life or death. I’m so thankful I bravely chose life and didn’t listen to the world’s logic. I no longer question the loving intervention of God in my life. His plan is always good.

The pictures below are of:   Dan and his lovely wife Stephanie, Dan assisting me at the Lake Geneva Authorfest in July, 2015, and the original article about Dan nearly being aborted.

Isaiah 30:18: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!

Writing News:

For the first time ever the publisher of my mystery novel Bullet in the Night is giving Bullet away as a free ebook Sept. 24-26^th. If you haven’t read it yet take advantage of this opportunity. Feel free to share the news with friends.

I'll be the Guest Speaker at Aram Library, Delavan WI Sept. 22nd at 6 p.m. to discuss  the writing of Bullet in the Night and my next novel due out in Jan. - Never Tomorrow. Come say hi if you live close by.

My dear friend and fellow author Thomas Cavenagh wrote a page-turner pro-life novel called Matter of Inches. You can find it on amazon.com.