This blog was written by the most amazing woman. She led the first Surrendering The Secret Bible study I took. What a blessing she was during that study....and she's still a blessing to this day.
I know you will enjoy reading this as much as I did.
That elephant is my hero. Look at him. He has a great smile! He also knows what he believes. He has a steadfast disposition and an unwavering adherence to the truth- no matter what any one else thinks.
If it's been awhile since you've read Dr. Seuss's Horton collection- allow me to refresh your memory. In the book "Horton hears a Who" Horton comes upon a speck of dust in which an entire population of people-like creatures, called Whos, live. This speck sits vicariously atop a plant that looks like a spent dandelion flower. Horton believes in the value of these people and recognizes the obvious danger in their living on a speck of dust. Without even a second thought, Horton sets out protecting these Whos from a group of various other animals who's goal is to convince Horton he is wrong about the existence of the Who world and destroy the flower- speck and Who and all.
It is during one of these exchanges with his friends that Horton utters a phrase that has been rolling around in my heart since my five year old son and I read the story. "A person's a person, no matter how small."
Oh my, I've felt small before. In fact, I've felt small enough to feel as though I'm not even human- let alone valued or loved. I've met a lot of women who have felt that small. In fact, in the Bible Study I lead for post-abortive women, smallness is the one thing we all have in common when we start the journey together.
This coming Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. 39 years ago our courts ruled that women will have the right to legally obtain an abortion in the United States. We have been living out the heartbreak from that decision. I don't know that our country will ever truly understand the magnitude in which we've been effected by supporting, advocating, encouraging, and helping women abort. I don't know that I'll ever grow accustomed to hearing their stories, seeing their regret, hurting with them while they work through their heart break. Small- Horton really had it right, that is the best word that can be used to describe a mother who has not been allowed to grieve the death of her child.
This is a tough topic for me to write about. My hands are shaking and I have so much more to say. I'm also wondering if you've walked away from the computer. Do you, like I did for years, avoid any discussion with regard to abortion? I've been there to. I understand how you feel. Maybe you have experienced an abortion and your only consolation is that I'm dead wrong about the heartbreak. Maybe you don't understand how a woman would ever make the choice to abort- but like me, you're secretly very thankful you never had to make that choice in the first place. Whew- that really was a close one...
What I want to say today is that I agree with Horton. A person's a person, no matter how small. I'll even add- no matter how small they feel. I know of another who agrees. Jesus Christ agrees with Horton- in fact if Horton were real, I'd wonder if he knows God personally.
You see, when it comes to effectively healing from an epidemic of small-ness, there is only one cure. He's heroic, for sure, but more importantly than that he's steadfast in his knowledge of us and his love for us. He created us, watched us as we grew, rejoiced at our birth, has been with us from the first heart beat until this very moment. He promised to never leave us, never forsake us- because a person's a person, no matter how small.
Here's his cure for smallness -
Psalm 139:13-16 (The Message)
13 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb.
14 I thank you, High God- you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration what a creation!
16 You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
16 Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.
Like I said before, you may not agree with me. A few years ago- I never would have even had the conversation with you. But today, I wonder, who will take up the challenge to be more like Horton?
I'm tired of people being disposed of through abortion. I'm tired of it for the aborted but I'm also more tired of it for the women and men who walk back into their lives to live out that decision with every breath they take through heartache and confusion. I'm tired of being silent and so my message today is, "A person's a person, no matter how small" and that's why a mother's heart breaks into small pieces when her child is aborted.
I can't leave it at that though. Jesus died on a cross so I wouldn't have to. If you'd like to argue your case- or hear more about Surrendering the Secret my email is sts.ssorenson@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you- or reply to this post and we'll talk. You matter- no matter how mad you are or how small you feel.
