It was a beautiful day in June when a junior football (aka soccer) team and their coach decided to do a bit of exploring. Caves are fun–full of new discoveries around every turn. They were so engrossed with their attempt to uncover the Tham Luang Cave’s secrets that they didn’t notice some slight changes in the weather.
Rain had started and soon flooded the entrance to the cave. Is this starting to sound familiar? Eyes across the world started focusing on these these twelve young boys and their coach as their story hit the news. They went into the cave on June 23, 2018. Two Thai Navy Seals died in the initial attempt to rescue these boys.
It’s an intrinsic part of being a human–the desire to protect life. The world came forth to help these 13 guys. Over 100,000 people were involved in the rescue attempts. The British Cave Rescue Council (BDRC), the US Military, the Australian Specialist Response Divers and the Beijing Peaceland Foundation joined over 100 divers, representatives from 100 different governmental agencies from across the world, 900 police officers, 2,000 soldiers and countless diving cylinders.
It took 17 days before all the boys could be rescued. The world cheered when the last boy was transported to the hospital with only minor injuries.
The world celebrated life, regardless of the cost.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
Right now, Lubbock stands at a cross roads. The other day we received two different mailings that shared conflicting messages. One said that we supported life by valuing the life of the child in the womb. The other said we valued life by championing the mother.
I’m here to boldly say, having worked with Heartline Women’s Clinic in the past, that you do both when you vote for the ordinance.
IF
Here is the big IF–IF you believe what you say you do and allow you time and finances to speak the same message as your heart. The decision to terminate a pregnancy is not a decision made on a whim. It is usually a decision made out of fear.
The University of Minnesota in its document, “Taking Charge of your Health and Wellbeing” states that, “Fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically. This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions.” When the amygdala (small organ in the middle of your brain) is activated by fear, it redirects the hormones and blood flow in your body. The Cerebral Cortex (the reasoning and judgement) part of the brain becomes impaired when this happens.
In other words, when we are scared, we might make decisions that are contrary to our core beliefs because fear has paralyzed us.
The ordinance is simply giving women a little bit more time to make a decision they can live with for the rest of their lives. It is removing the easy access and requiring them to do a little extra step–drive or find a driver to take them to another city. It is giving them a wee bit more time to allow the cerebral cortex to kick back in to make sure this is what they really want. Despite what one of the fliers suggested, when the mother’s life is at risk, any hospital, anywhere does everything needed to save her life. Don’t allow fear tactics to change your core beliefs.
Now, this is where you come in. Do you believe what you say you believe? The fear women go through when facing an unplanned pregnancy is real. It’s usually grounded in truth. They may not have the means to take care of a child. It may significantly disrupt the plans they have for their life.
The have real needs–financial, emotional and spiritual. The child then will have real needs as well.
No cost was considered when the world came together to rescue the Thai soccer team or the 33 Chilean miners or even Baby Jessica when she fell down the well in Midland. However, someone did have to cover the cost of each of those rescues. That amount was divided up between all the groups that helped.
That is the design for the Body of Christ. If we collectively provide for the new mom who needs a job, but has child care issues, if we become mentors to young parents navigating a life they didn’t expect or we buy diapers, if we volunteer in the church nursery to give parents a little break or anything else where we sacrifice our own time and resources, and then if we are there to hold the hand of a woman who acted out of fear and made a decision that she now finds she can’t live with, we are truly valuing life.
Together, we can make a bold statement of our core values.
So, how will you do that today?
Amen!