Tomorrow marks the 49th annual March for Life.
An estimated 50,000 people are expected to march on the National Mall in Washington, fighting for the unborn, as Saturday marks the 49th (and hopefully last) anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
People from all over the country will flood Washington to stand for the voiceless, and hear speakers like Fr. Mike Schmitz and Kirk Cameron.
The theme for the march this year, is “Equality begins in the womb.”
Which, is so fitting given the current social climate in the United States. As a nation, we’ve become so hyper focused on gender equality, racial equality, sexual orientation equality…seen in hiring practices, educational systems, political offices, in places of employment, at the Oscars, and now even unthinkably, in sports (ie: women’s collegiate swimming).
This battle for equality is everywhere. And warranted or not, it has become a battlecry for so many.
And yet, one very large and important group has been completely forgotten and pushed aside when it comes to equality: the children in the womb.
Pushed out of the picture in favor of “a woman’s right to choose,” those precious lives are entirely disregarded, proving yet again how “Me-First” our society has become.
It’s funny because all of the pro-abortion rhetoric is, “My body, my choice.” “Hands off my body.” “Body autonomy.” Which is so ironic, given the current vaccine mandate debate that’s being waged in the courts and in our towns.
The pro-choicers that are fighting for body autonomy when it comes to a woman’s “right” to kill the child in her womb, many are the same people fighting against body autonomy when it comes to deciding whether or not to get a vaccine.
And look, don’t get it twisted: I am in NO WAY an “anti-vaxxer”… I have been jabbed three times, even though I’m currently huddled under a blanket with a 101 degree fever, praying it’s not the Rona.
But it’s just ironic how wishy-washy people can be when it comes to different applications of the same principle.
I’ve written a lot of pro-life posts. Everything from my experience praying outside Planned Parenthood in NYC (and the spiritual warfare that followed), to the movie Unplanned, to different pro-life voices, what anorexia taught me about the sanctity of human life, and so forth. Most, if not all of them censored from Facebook.
But I there’s one aspect of this fight for life that I have never touched on before, mainly because it’s not…well…flattering.
And something that I’ve decided to really work on, starting now.
I’m going to be really disgustingly honest here: I harbor a lot of bitterness towards people that are adamantly pro-abortion.
These women with their “hands off my uterus” bumper stickers and “P*$$* Power” hats…when I see them, I have a visceral internal response.
That is not something I’m thrilled to admit.
But the fact is, in my heart, I really struggle with separating their belief that I see as murderous, heartless, selfish, etc, with who they are as a person.
The negativity I harbor in my heart towards outspoken abortion activists, it is not pretty, and it certainly isn’t Christian.
And I want to just pause to say that, when it comes to my friends, I know I am the lone prolife wolf in my pack of buddies. And I don’t harbor any negativity towards them at all, even though we have different beliefs when it comes to life.
But if I were to meet a person for the first time, and they led with some sort of pro-abortion, in-your-face, acoustic slogan, I would have a really hard time not letting that instantly color my opinion of that person, at a moral level.
Again, I know this is not attractive, but I’m just being honest. Maybe I’m more judgmental than I thought. Maybe I’m a Negative Nancy, or harbor hatred in my heart.
I just can’t imagine what could lead someone to believe that killing a child is – not just okay, – but a cause to take a stand for.
What I’ve been praying for is the temperance of spirit. I’ve been praying for a softening of my heart to separate this (horrific) belief a person holds, with the person themself.
Because we are more than one decision. We are more than one aspect of who we are.
Heck, if everyone instantly judged me by the fact that I was severely anorexia and nearly threw away my life, and that was the only thing that accounted for my character, I would be in a world of hurt.
Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
I need to have an instant switch that I flip when I feel that visceral reaction happening, that instead of going to a negative thought, I instead offer up a prayer for that person. A genuine prayer that they be led to the truth. That there may be a conversion of heart, of thought, of understanding.
2 Tim 2: 24-26 “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned to be true in this life, is that you cannot make a person change.
There is not a single person in this world that you can force to change, try as you might. It is a toilsome task that leaves one feeling defeated, heartbroken, and frustrated beyond compare — believe me, after being the President of a Sorority where 55 girls lived under the same roof, I learned that lesson the hard way…
But you cannot make a person change.
Only God has the power to change hearts. Only He can open our eyes to the truth. Only He can help us hear His voice. Only He can soften hearts of stone. That is His, and only His, power.
All we can do is pray for that person. Offer them up to God to move in their heart, and create a living temple in their soul.
That is what we are called to do. Not judge. Not think terrible things about what that person might do to a puppy. Or arrogantly wonder how they sleep at night.
Because truth time: I’ve got a laundry list of things myself, that I should be examining internally…so who am I to be pointing out anything anyone else might need to work on.
That person, is a creation of God, just like you and I, and therefore equally deserving of love.
Which, I guess brings this all full circle, back to the theme of the 2022 March for Life: Equality begins in the womb.
The greatest equalizer in this world, is love. Love is not a currency that can be manipulated, or inflated, or shown upon one verses the other. It doesn’t matter what the situation, love can abide through any barrier, any hardship, any trial, any defeat.
Let us show that love, not only to the child in the womb, but also to all those who may be fighting against the very thing we’re marching for.
“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5
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33 responses to “49 Years”
Amen, Caralyn. I feel the same way. It can be hard to love people who support something so evil. You are right. All we can do is pray for them, and speak the truth in love. God is definitely the only One who can change hearts. That is a good slogan for March for Life. There is a lot of hypocrisy on the left regarding equality. “Equality Begins in the Womb” will hopefully help people think about that, and take a stand for the precious lives of babies. God bless!
Ridiculous. Nobody even cared about this stupid march until 2017. Nothing against people who think that way. But enough is enough. They’re ruining everything.
You missed the most important verse of all: Matthew 5:17
Jesus was Pro Choice.
Thank you for your post. I agree as it hits my core. Yes, prayer is the answer. God knows.
Prayer is an abdication of personal accountability. We need to make decisions and stand by them, assuming we’ve informed ourselves and reflected on available data before making a decision or action plan. This whole “pray on it” stance is little more than an excuse to deflect from the reality that someone isn’t going to do the due diligence required of them to make an informed decision before declaring that they “prayed on it” before saying Jesus confirmed what they wanted all along. Admit it, Jesus’s voice in your head sounded just. like. yours.
When I get guidance from my conscience, it usually sounds like my mom or my dad, depending on the situation.
[…] 49 Years […]
Thank you your Caralynnness for being a light for those who have novoice.
My fav post of yours to date. I genuinely enjoyed reading it.
I agree we should not judge people; however, I believe every Believer should judge SIN and call it what it is: SIN. We then should do our best to warn them.
Jesus sent His disciples out and said “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” (Matthew 10:14-15; Luke 9:4-6) We give the warning; we plant the seed; we offer the hope, but Jesus gives the Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness that leads to salvation.
So…you’re judging people. Got it.
What a beautiful and convicting post. We must be humble as we pray for women and babies and the right to life. Romans says that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And His saving grace is free to all who will believe and receive it.
“Convicting post”…Best typo ever. #WhenChristiansAccidentallyTellTheTruth
This is so well written, Caralyn, thank you for this post. Speaking honestly, I am so tired of seeing my beautiful country being torn apart by those who want to kill innocent babies. Torn apart by racial warfare. There is no right to commit murder. Roe v. Wade, a license to kill, issued by our government. Me First. May God bless the men and women who march, each a voice for the voiceless. America deeply needs Jesus Christ!
Hi C! I’m so sorry you feel bad. Will definitely be praying harder for your health the next few days. I know you’re concerned about your immune system, but I recall you writing about having a bad head/chest cold a few years ago, and your body handled it OK. But if you continue to have fever for a few days, please check with someone. And let us know when you feel better if you can. 🙂
It’s a bit disheartening to think you’re the only prolife person in your circle. But obviously God has placed you slap dab in the middle of a mission field! I’ll join with you in praying for them, and perhaps God will open a door for you to have a true discussion about the issue. Maybe the only reason some of them aren’t prolife is that they’ve never truly looked at all the aspects of it.
As far as judging is concerned, people misunderstand that concept. Observing someone’s immoral behavior and letting them know it is immoral by God’s standards is not judging them or their behavior. God has already done that.
To judge someone is to pass judgment on them or to make a final determination of their worth or what they deserve. By your own admission, you don’t want to write anyone off or declare them unworthy of love or forgiveness, but instead you want God to change your heart to love them better so they will allow God to forgive and change them. Total opposite of judging.
You are definitely on the right track in praying for folks, and I know because I’m in the boat with you. While I have a problem with proabortion folks too, my big deal is people who lie and deliberately twist the truth to hurt others for their own gain. The only way I’ve been able to deal with them is to pray for them. It really does help you learn to see them beyond any bad behavior.
Praying you feel better soon so you can enjoy the weekend! 🤗🙏
Feel better, Caralyn. Nicely written. God bless the most vulnerable people in our society, the unborn as well as the elderly. They both need champions like you!
Please feel better, Caralyn! Thank you for this post ❤️🙏🏻
A beautiful post thank you so much
Amen. Great post. Thank you for your heart and your honesty. I think many of us could agree that we have a hard time separating sin from people who make those choices. We are all in that place no matter how minor or major we view the act. Praying you feel better soon.
This is beautiful.
I feel the same way… I can be a bit judgmental about people like that too.
I think what struck me the most about Unplanned was the way that Shawn and his wife whose name I can’t remember now were so cordial toward Abby and the Planned Parenthood employees. Because of that Abby had somewhere to go when she decided to get out.
I’ll be honest, days where the phrase “There is no hate greater than Christian love” pops into my head are not my favorite days.
Today was a two-fer. Really a bothersome reality.
Here’s my issue with your pro-life religious mandate – aside from the whole “We live in a country founded on the principle of a freedom from religious persecution” and here you are, holding equal citizens of our country accountable to your beliefs as “the only right and correct option”, which is textbook *not* a free life.
Did I wander off point? I’m sorry…here’s my beef with pro-lifers: the inject themselves into someone’s personal choice-slash-crisis to *force* a decision that reflects their values. Then they walk away from the situation as if their work is done.
Wrong. And even the people who preach adoption over abortion…still wrong.
Because you aren’t giving women the resources that are needed to actually provide for a child that may be coloring their decision to abort in the first place!
Adoption over child rearing does nothing to address the costs of a pregnancy, up to and including birth in a hospital.
Universal health care? Vote for THAT, and bam…your argument gets more credible instantly.
Pay equality for women? How can we *know* – through multiple independent studies that women make $.60-some on the dollar compared to their male counterparts and we expect them to support themselves and a child they are certain they can’t add to their financial equation because of Grandpa Who Lives In The Clouds. You’ve gotta put your tax money where your religious values are.
The adoption system? You want to *force* women to bear children but only give them the option of putting an unwanted child into an adoption system that fundamentally opposes a single parent adoption. How about religious-based adoption agencies that won’t adopt out to same sex couples? What’s the after care plan for kids who don’t get adopted out of the system? We can’t say we’re pro-life until you turn 18 and then throw them out…that seems like nothing more than a time-released abortion.
If that crap was fixed, I still wouldn’t be personally pro-life versus pro-choice, because if Grandpa Who Lives In The Clouds wanted control over a body, he shouldn’t have “given” it away. But, I’d be less wary of taking away a woman’s agency over her own body so long as the forced birth came with an actual plan once that STD was birthed into the world.
Fix the after situations and you’ll get a lot less resistance from me.
And I didn’t even dip into smarter and more acid tongued challenges to pro-lifers like “When does child support start?” and “If a woman miscarries, can she get an accidental death payout from her insurance?” and much, much more…not to mention those in your ilk who’d gladly force me to pay my gay away. Trust me, you’re not pro-life with these half measures, you’re pro-misery.
Come up with a better plan before you start forcing your dogma down free stranger’s throats. You may actually gain traction toward your end goal.
I pray you do get better soon and thank you for reminding us of the March for life. It is wonderful you are loving friends with opposite views however you might consider finding a few new friends who will stand with you in the battle. God bless..feel better and keep up the fight!
Like you, I cannot imagine someone advocating to kill an unborn child, let alone marching for that cause. BUT, I also understand the importance of allowing exceptions in the case of rape or incest. In the end, you said it all when you said, “The greatest equalizer in this world, is love. Love is not a currency that can be manipulated, or inflated, or shown upon one verses the other. It doesn’t matter what the situation, love can abide through any barrier, any hardship, any trial, any defeat.” Why can’t we all JUST LOVE?
Good work, my friend.
P.S. Get well fast. We need you.
Thou shalt not kill. It is a commandment. Killing in any form is a disobedience of the Father’s commandment. Any government that has no value for human life is irrelevant.
Thoughtful. Thank you.
Fabulous article! You speak God’s heart and I am always lifted and inspired just reading your posts.
Thank you for liking my post today. I too want to reveal His loving heart. Your encouragement is appreciated.
Continue to be bold and courageous. You are making a difference and I can see God using your life in mighty ways!
In His love,
Marcy
Carolyn I am also laid up with corona. My two youngsters are also laid up with it. I really admire you for finding the strength to write a post even if I disagree with it. Get better soon.
There’s nothing natural about abortions. What really bothers me is how miscarriage is considered the SAME as an abortion people’s medical records. This really hit a nerve for me when I glanced over at my medical paper and they put abortion: 1. I had a miscarriage in 2015 – not an abortion. A miscarriage is spontaneous and natural. An abortion is induced and intentional (not natural). D&C is not the same as D&E (more medical jargon) but I digress. There’s a big difference and I wish doctors wouldn’t clump them together as being the same thing. I’m not sure how many patients have caught into this and I can’t fathom how someone would actually be happy about a miscarriage. How is abortion moral or humane? Seriously. 🙄
I hope you are recovering from your illness. I think we humans are hardwired to have an “us v. them” response, whoever “us” or “them” might be. Heck, I can get the feelings you describe about all kinds of “thems” abortion supporters being only one of those.
You are absolutely right that we need to seek strength and wisdom to overcome these tendencies.
Caralyn, your blog was both encouraging and convicting! Thank you for speaking out on this critical issue. Your words inspired mine in my blog yesterday–thanks so much for “liking” it! Yes, we need to return attacks with soft answers, spoken in the love of Christ and without hate of any kind. Yes, we need to pray for those in opposition. Even if laws change, the heart of our country will not be transformed until the Holy Spirit revives us. Blessings to you today! https://lightbournecreative.com/2022/01/24/the-privileged-life-when-its-time-to-leave-the-fence/
With you all the way. I too struggle in this way and really am seeking the Lord to help me see them as He does. His heart aches to see them blinded and deceived, seduced by the world and the enemy. I’m sooooo not there, but I can pray. Oddly, my heart IS with those who have suffered an abortion (or many as the case may be) because that truly must be a suffering. How could it not. 😔🙏🏻
Thank you for being so thoughtful, and bold!
I hope you are feeling better!
Feel better. Great post by the way. 🙂
thank you!