Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat
A question was posed in the comment section of my last post concerning my views on The Cider House Rules and how it affected my life. Aye yi yi. I am assuming that this question is referring to abortion. Well, geez Louise....you know, I sincerely don't want to start a firestorm here, but I guess since it's my blog, I can share my views. Frankly, I usually keep my political opinions to myself. I can argue forever and a day about key plot points in the Harry Potter saga, but for some reason, I see no need in arguing about real world issues. Mainly, I think, because I don't think that my little opinions will change anything anyway. I'm no boat rocker; I'm no Michael Moore. I vote. That is my contribution to American politics.
My friend Amy, over at Life By Candlelight, whom I have known since college, recently stated in a post that she often feels that she is "not Christian ENOUGH for the Christians and TOO Christian for those who are not." Amy is quite a bit more liberal than me, but I can definitely echo those same feelings.
Since it was released, I actually went out of my way to not watch The Cider House Rules. I knew what it was about, and as I mentioned before, I don't like my canoe even slightly swayed. I had my set opinions on abortion and I prefered to leave them that way. However, slowly, throughout the past couple of years, whilst I have been floating peacefully down the river, I have found that my conservative boat has been slowly tipping by gentle, but persistent, waves.
It started with little things...like getting my monthly Focus On The Family newsletter from James Dobson one day, and actually thumbing through it for once. Realizing that I had a strong urge to flick him on his nose. (I still think that he has some good views on child-rearing, but for the most part, I am irritated by his political views, and feel that he is speaking out of turn for the rest of us Christians. We aren't all like ole' Jimmy Dob. I swear.)
Then I discovered that my inner cockles were becoming increasingly itchy about the current state of our government. And hey, I voted for George W. Bush. I liked him. I still kinda like the guy. But I feel very itchy about the whole Iraq mess.
But I think that the main contribution to my boat tipping has been watching my husband's work. Jason works with the lowliest of society. His schizophrenic clients would be living under a bridge if it weren't for the grace of God, medication and thankfully, Jason's treatment center. Whenever I start to get all high and mighty, I take a trip to the center and gaze upon the real world. Some of them are simply learning how to bathe every couple of days. Some are battling voices in their heads, telling them that they are worthless. Most have been abandoned by their families. Many were sexually and physically abused as children. Their teeth are rotting out because of the harshness of their medication. They sit outside and chain-smoke, not knowing that the entire town avoids their particular street. This is the real world, and it's anything but perfect.
So getting back to the question...how do I feel about abortion? I don't like abortion. I don't like it at all. (I want to sing the praises of adoption from the rooftops, though.) In a perfect world, there would be no need for abortion to exist. But we live in a fallen world full of teenage pregnancies, rape, molestation, rotting teeth and heartache. Rather than spending our time condemning a woman for killing her unborn child, the time, in my opinion, could be better spent reaching out to help heal her soul for the grief, confusion and emptiness that she is certain to be feeling. Jesus can comfort us and heal us when we are in our darkest pit. This soul-healing is permanent and eternal, as opposed to the temporary actions and heartaches of our present life. You can either club her with your sign that says, "God Thinks Abortion is Murder" as she leaves the clinic, or you can take her by the hand and introduce her to the REAL God. The God who says, "I don't care what you've done. I love you anyway."
So those are my views on abortion. Let the firestorm begin.
My friend Amy, over at Life By Candlelight, whom I have known since college, recently stated in a post that she often feels that she is "not Christian ENOUGH for the Christians and TOO Christian for those who are not." Amy is quite a bit more liberal than me, but I can definitely echo those same feelings.
Since it was released, I actually went out of my way to not watch The Cider House Rules. I knew what it was about, and as I mentioned before, I don't like my canoe even slightly swayed. I had my set opinions on abortion and I prefered to leave them that way. However, slowly, throughout the past couple of years, whilst I have been floating peacefully down the river, I have found that my conservative boat has been slowly tipping by gentle, but persistent, waves.
It started with little things...like getting my monthly Focus On The Family newsletter from James Dobson one day, and actually thumbing through it for once. Realizing that I had a strong urge to flick him on his nose. (I still think that he has some good views on child-rearing, but for the most part, I am irritated by his political views, and feel that he is speaking out of turn for the rest of us Christians. We aren't all like ole' Jimmy Dob. I swear.)
Then I discovered that my inner cockles were becoming increasingly itchy about the current state of our government. And hey, I voted for George W. Bush. I liked him. I still kinda like the guy. But I feel very itchy about the whole Iraq mess.
But I think that the main contribution to my boat tipping has been watching my husband's work. Jason works with the lowliest of society. His schizophrenic clients would be living under a bridge if it weren't for the grace of God, medication and thankfully, Jason's treatment center. Whenever I start to get all high and mighty, I take a trip to the center and gaze upon the real world. Some of them are simply learning how to bathe every couple of days. Some are battling voices in their heads, telling them that they are worthless. Most have been abandoned by their families. Many were sexually and physically abused as children. Their teeth are rotting out because of the harshness of their medication. They sit outside and chain-smoke, not knowing that the entire town avoids their particular street. This is the real world, and it's anything but perfect.
So getting back to the question...how do I feel about abortion? I don't like abortion. I don't like it at all. (I want to sing the praises of adoption from the rooftops, though.) In a perfect world, there would be no need for abortion to exist. But we live in a fallen world full of teenage pregnancies, rape, molestation, rotting teeth and heartache. Rather than spending our time condemning a woman for killing her unborn child, the time, in my opinion, could be better spent reaching out to help heal her soul for the grief, confusion and emptiness that she is certain to be feeling. Jesus can comfort us and heal us when we are in our darkest pit. This soul-healing is permanent and eternal, as opposed to the temporary actions and heartaches of our present life. You can either club her with your sign that says, "God Thinks Abortion is Murder" as she leaves the clinic, or you can take her by the hand and introduce her to the REAL God. The God who says, "I don't care what you've done. I love you anyway."
So those are my views on abortion. Let the firestorm begin.
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