Stand for Life!

This Christmas vacation I had a great time at home.  Spent most of the time with my family talking and catching up on a lot of things. During one such chats, my mom told me something about her youngest brother’s family which made me admire them. Since I was born and bought up in Jharkhand, I was away from my extended family and there is very little I know about my cousins, uncles, aunts etc.  I’ve been to this particular uncle’s place only once in my life and don’t think have met them more than four times and hence knew very little about them. They live in a very small village in north Kerala. They have an elder daughter and a younger son.  When my aunt was carrying the boy in her womb, she fell sick. The doctor she consulted prescribed her medicines without considering the fact that she had a growing foetus within her. She was cured, but due to side effects of the medicine, the child inside suffered. It was found that the child would have serious physical deformation. This was a shock to the family which was surviving with limited means and was struggling to make their ends meet.  Everyone suggested that the child be aborted.  Considering the hardship that would follow, my uncle also was of the same opinion. But my aunt didn’t want to take the easy way out. She wanted to bring her son into this world and she did. Now he is in school, studying in standard tenth. Yes, he was born with many deformities. Yes, the family had to go through many difficulties, but the family is so much happier. And guess what, now he is the apple of his father’s eyes who can’t imagine living without his son. All this because his mother didn’t choose the more convenient option.

But that’s not always the case. On 25^th Nov 2011, tragedy struck a family in Melbourne. A mother was carrying twin boys in her womb. Towards the later stage of pregnancy it was found that one of her baby boys had congenital heart defect that would require years of operation, if he survived at all. She took the decision of putting an end to the life of the sick foetus which was 32 weeks into his life, just six weeks before he could see the world. This decision in itself was unfortunate, and was made even worse when in a terrible mistake, instead of injecting the sick foetus, the healthy one was injected who died in the womb. The sick twin was also terminated in an emergency operation.  In a span of three hours, the two lives which were growing silently and protected within their mother’s womb for 32 weeks came to an end. Her friend said, “She went to the hospital with two babies and now she has none.” The mother, who had already named her boys, lost both of them. Her womb which was thriving with life, now lay barren.  A decision and a human error brought the dreams of the entire family crashing down.

For many, abortion is pro- choice, it’s a right for them to chose. But for me it is the most heinous crime possible, it’s killing a being who, leave aside defend, can’t even cry for help. It killing a child in the place he is most secure- the mother’s womb.  It’s turning the cradle of life into a graveyard. It surprises me that for many, the foetus within the mother’s womb is just a lump of tissues which has no life, which feels nothing. Many are of the opinion that life begins only after the child is born.  How wrong they are was proved by an incident and a photograph taken way back in 1999. Julie Armas, after suffering from two miscarriages, conceived for the third time and was desperate to bring forth a life into this world. During the 14^th week, an ultrasound scan left the parents devastated. The baby boy inside was suffering from Spina Bifida – a condition which left the spinal cord exposed after the backbone failed to develop. His parents could have decided to abort him, but they didn’t. They decided to go for a surgery. The surgery took place when the child was 21 weeks old. At one point of time during the surgery, the child’s hand came out of the womb and when the doctor touched it, he squeezed the doctor’s finger as if thanking him for the help. This moment was captured by a photographer who was documenting the surgery. 

Though there are different versions of what happened that day, but since then this photograph has been a sign showing the world that life exists inside mother’s womb, that life exists from the moment of conception, that inside a mother’s womb is not a lump of tissues but a life waiting to be born - a living being just like you and me. “You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb....When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother’s womb , when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there – you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

The reason why one has to make this choice of whether to allow the child to be born or not can be many: from the fear of taking care of a deformed child all through their lives to a way to cover up a ‘mistake’; from the feeling that the family may not have the resources to raise the child to the thought that ‘we aren’t prepared for a child yet’; from the fact that the child might be a girl to the feeling that it would be a stumbling block to the parents’ career. Whatever be the reason, if ever we come across such crossroads in our lives, let’s not suggest/support/take the convenient decision, an easy option to choose to end an innocent life so as to make ours better. Let’s decide to stand for life. No matter how difficult it is, it would be overcome by the joy of bringing forth a life into this world, by the sight of seeing him smile, yawning when he is about to sleep, trying to fix his gaze on you; by the sound of hearing him cry, making noises which don’t mean anything, speaking his first words; by the feeling of hugging him when he cries, holding his tiny little fingers; by the chance of getting to know a completely new person;  by the blessing of giving an opportunity for God’s creation to see His beautiful world.

“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me.” – Jesus (Mark 9:37)

Stand for Life! God Bless!

I'm not alone

Last month, in our college, we had a personal growth workshop and I took part in it. In the first session we were asked to introduce ourselves and give a brief description about who we were. The very first line that came into my mind about myself was – ‘I am a nomad. A wanderer.’ coz all my life I have been moving from one place to another. From Bihar to Jharkhand to Coimbatore, from Kerala to Kolkata, from Shillong to Chennai...... and within a month I will be moving out of Chennai to don’t know where. But no matter where I went, no matter how unfamiliar the place, food, culture may be, no matter if I didn’t have a single friend or relative, I never felt alone. Coz I knew the loving God was with me wherever I went. He was, is and will be the only one who would be with me always no matter what. No wonder the psalmist says:

 “You are all round me on every side; you protect me with your power.

Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?

Even if I went up to heaven you would be there; if I lay in the world of the dead you would be there.

If I flew beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.” (Psalm139:5-10).

The love of our God never leaves us.

But I was not born with this attitude. Through most of my life I felt just the other way round. I would be one of those guys who would sing ‘I am so lonely’ and would really mean every word. I suffered from the ‘Why me?’ syndrome. I spent days, months and years asking – ‘God, Why me? Why do I have to go through all these problems? Why does all this happen to me? Why was I born in this family?’ There were nights I spent crying all by myself, there were times when I wouldn’t talk with anyone in my school for as long as a week, there were days when I felt I had no friend – no one to speak to, no one to share my feelings with.  All this, while I could only helplessly watch my family fall apart. The daily fights, the anger, the hatred, the fear, the helplessness is all I can remember. My dad on the verge of axing me, my mom soaked in kerosene with a lit matchstick in her hand are my childhood memories. God’s love was the last thing I experienced. God was almost non-existent.

But all this changed one night when I sat before the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration. Some years ago, in a retreat, during an inner healing prayer, the preacher made us journey though our entire life – from the moment we were conceived in our mother’s womb till that very day. We had to remember all the past incidents and offer it to Jesus. As I was praying, I could see all that I have gone through, scroll right in front of my eyes – all the hurtful, painful incidents, all the fights, all the times I felt alone, crushed; I could see them all. But then I saw something special. In all these incidents I could see Jesus standing right next to me! Through all the pains I could see Him consoling me. All the moments I thought I suffered alone, I could see Him holding my hand. It was as if I was living my life once again, but this time with Jesus by my side. All these while I thought I was alone, but then, that night I realized that I was not alone. God was with me all through; each and every second. I was filled with so much of joy that I can’t explain. I just burst out in tears, tears of joy! And since then I have been singing – ‘I am not alone.’ Surely I faced problems and struggles, even bigger ones, after that night, but I never felt alone coz I felt the love of God always surround me.

Over the past few years I have learned one thing - no matter what happens in our life, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Even if you are going through the biggest struggle in your life, the love of God is right there with you. You might be struggling in your studies, or at work, or in your personal life, you might be crushed under the demands others put on you, might be absolutely clueless about your future, might be struggling to find a job, or to make friends, or to face people, you might be going through the biggest dilemma, pain, confusion in your life, you might be feeling absolutely lost, lonely, depressed, you might be chained by your sins or addictions,  you might think nobody understands you, cares for you, loves you, you might be going through the deepest, darkest phase in your life. No matter how bad the situation is, don’t worry coz you are not alone, the Love of God is always there with you to guide you, to protect you, to strengthen you. That’s why St Paul says:

 “For I am certain that nothing can separate us from His love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below – there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38,39)

God Loves You!

God Bless!!