God Bless the Children

This will be a strange Mothers' Day at the Rochester Church. Although we have more than 1200 members, we meet in three morning services and there is a powerful sense of family and intimacy in our fellowship. When one suffers, we all suffer.

And some are suffering today. Little Lyndsi has died. Her family welcomed her just over a year ago, adopting her from a far off land. She was a dear little girl, widely loved and fussed over by all of us who knew her. Just a matter of weeks ago she took ill and was taken to hospital by her parents (salt of the earth people, by the way -- wonderful people and wonderful parents). They got a diagnosis none of us expected: leukemia. After an initial fright, the news became a bit better. The doctors were sure they could treat tiny Lyndsi; that she could survive this aggressive disease. That is why it was such a shock to hear yesterday that Lyndsi had died. One day, she was riding her little bicycle. The next day, she was in heaven and her parents were experiencing the worst pain a human can feel.

I cannot get them out of my mind. I will not publish their names or details for their privacy is worth more than any blog or column, but I will ask that you pray for Lyndsi's parents who must wait so very long before they get to see her again. It has made for a painful Mothers' Day -- and will continue to make this day a difficult one for that family in years to come as it rolls around. I have always ached for those who suffer significant loss on a holiday such as this or Christmas. While others rejoice, they will forever remember the tragedy that marked their lives forever.

Children are so precious to me -- and to Jesus -- that I have never been able to understand those who consider them a nuisance or, worse, a "choice." Now, worldnetdaily.com has published excerpts of a letter written by Ron Weddington, one of the attorneys to argue the Roe vs. Wade case before the Supreme Court, urging then President Clinton to use the legality of abortion as a way to "eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy, and poor segment of our country." He goes on to say "I don't think you will get very far in reforming this country until we have a better educated, healthier, and wealthier population." He urged the new president to liberalize abortion laws so that the poor, uneducated, and unhealthy percentage of our population could be wiped out. His language is graphic and without nuance. He celebrated the 30 million abortions that had occurred by that time, arguing that the world was much better off without those births.

How can anyone throw away children so cavalierly? How can anyone mark a population as not worthy to live? How could anyone encourage some of our people to kill their children so that the country will be better off?

And all the time he writes this bloody letter, there are people waiting for the chance to adopt children, there are parents mourning the loss of their children, and there are Christians ready to love and help any expectant mother and her child -- before and after their birth.

Could the differences between us and the "liberal, loving, progressive" left be more plainly writ? God bless the children. And bless them through us, since we may be the best hope -- or the only hope -- they have.

And, God? Tell Lyndsi we love her. And we'll be right up to see her very soon.