Your Life IS on Track

I saw an article today... Actually, I read a lot of articles, so this is nothing out of the ordinary, but the subject matter was new to me.

read the article here

There's been a lot in the news lately... Everything from Starbucks cups to terrorism. But when I was in high school, there were two topics that were almost constantly up for debate. So I guess the headline of the article took me back to that place.

The article was written as a defense for women's reproductive rights, arguing that 100,000 women have attempted home-abortions due to lack of access to clinics in Texas (HB2).

While I do believe in the sanctity of life, I think there's a bigger issue at stake here. Most self-proclaiming Christians cheer every time a family-planning clinic closes. As if lack of access to abortion is the heart of the problem? As if that fixes what's wrong here?

Gosh... that doesn't even begin to touch God's heart.

I can say without question that God's heart breaks for every child that doesn't see day due to abortion. That's his creation being rejected: a unique individual that could have done incredible feats. But I also think God has a special place in his heart for motherhood and families.

God created the family - he designed it.

Taking away access to abortion clinics doesn't change the reason why women end pregnancies, it just makes them desperate and consider other options, be it home-abortion or adoption.

Abortion happens when a woman decides she can't be a mom to the child.

And there are a variety of reasons, normally feelings of inadequacy, inconvenience, or fear.

But while abortion has been around for centuries - home abortion is nothing new - I think self-determination is something that has historical roots here in America.

You see, at the end of the 1800s, the Women's Rights movement began to take shape. It was a long-awaited change in Victorian culture that sought to explore another side of womanhood - beyond that of a housewife, and more as a critical thinker. Role models for women were changing along with the new century - women like Susan B Anothony and Eleanor Roosevelt.

America has always stood for self-betterment and new opportunities... and this subject is no different.

The redefinition of what was acceptable for women progressed, especially with industrialization, the 20's and WWII. The Second World War was a major turning point. With most of the male population being drafted into the war, their wives and girlfriends stepped into their places, and quite frankly, were in no hurry to give back their jobs when the war ended. (Side note - that was not a jab at homelessness. That has its roots with WWI and PTSD. "Hobo" comes from homeward bound, many of the Great War vets simply never made it home and continued to wander, or struggled to work because of PTSD). 

This was the era of the working woman.

With the rise in working women, and several more human rights movements, ours has become a culture of non-conformism. We redefined woman-hood, then person-hood, and then came the sexual revolution. We are a rather self-determined lot, though at the same time, we subject ourselves to conforming to non-conformism. Anything that conforms has to be outdated, old and rejected.

Somehow, we've glorified independence at the cost of family.

Let's face it, if a young lady says, "I want to be a mommy when I grow up," she gets shamed and asked what kind of job she wants to have. She's liberated, she doesn't have to be a mommy. If she becomes a mommy, then she sacrifices any other opportunities she might otherwise have available to her.

You know, the one fear I hear quite a bit from my peers, is that by being a young mother, they might miss out on something.

I swear, our world thrives on the pendulum swing.

Motherhood used to be an incredible gift. Now, it's almost a bad thing - because you'll have to stop working, sacrifice sleep and kids are rude, sticky and loud.

I would like to turn that idea on its head.

What if we stopped looking at motherhood as a sacrifice of independence? What if we started telling little girls, you can be anything you want to be, even a mommy? And being a mom is such a cool job because you can be a mom AND a a fill-in-the-blank-here. Or just mom. You don't have to be a mom, but if you want to, you can.

What if girls believed that?

Because I don't think they do. They've been told all the horror stories of motherhood and none of the joys.

Most of them believe that if they become a mom, they're not living up to their potential... they're just pregnant. And of course, pregnancy "should only happen on purpose." As if that's the worst thing that could happen to you?

And THAT my friends, is the lie that we really need to ditch.

Because jobs will come and go

Careers can be derailed.

And impact is not limited to the world.

Because the legacy you leave is not defined by your independence or non-conformity, but by the people you love and the people who love you. If you recall all the trailblazers of the 20th century... not one of them would have a legacy if no one cared about their cause, or they didn't take the time to urge others to care.

I don't think making abortion illegal creates real change. Real change happens when we start looking at people, not matter what is happening in their lives and say, "You can do this," NOT, "Get your life back on track." That, coming from the crowd who defies the notion of a correct track? Already, I hope you see the problem. Back on the non-existent track?

Because nothing that happens to you is unforeseen by God. And God can use ANYTHING in your life. Intentional or unintentional. Your life IS on track, whether he leads you towards a job/ministry or towards a family. Neither one is bad. Just different. And God is active in every corner of life.

Once we start to believe that, unforeseen life complications won't be something to ditch... just another adventure to take on.