I met a child of rape. I want to talk about him, particularly now as the election looms, and politicians continue to mention the false necessity of abortion being available in cases of rape and incest. I can affirm that this life was worth saving.
As I write, this man is caring for his birth mother, who is dying of cancer. He only met her in her hospital room. He wants to stay with her, to breathe every breath with her. He wants to know her because he has not known her before.
He searched for her for years. He gave up in his mid-thirties. She had changed her name and appeared to be untraceable. Then a friend asked if she could use Facebook to help. He had nothing to lose, and perhaps something to gain.
God's plan for him at his birth seemed to be centered around providing a child to an infertile family. That's the way we usually think of adoption. But he's more than that. He's a childless man, with siblings, nieces and nephews, that he is now meeting. His quiet demeanor as he was learning to love these blood-strangers left me awestruck. His gentleness is a God-given foil to his conception.
If his contact with his birth-mother had been hindered for just a little bit longer, it never would have happened. If he had met her at a different time of her life, the meeting could have been disturbing for him. She might not have wanted to know him.
It really is true that each life has importance. Every life bears fruit when we offer ourselves to God. The pain that began his life is now the salve to a weakening heart. I can say no better than Pope Benedict XVI:
"Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is loved. each of us is willed. Each of us is necessary."
As I write, this man is caring for his birth mother, who is dying of cancer. He only met her in her hospital room. He wants to stay with her, to breathe every breath with her. He wants to know her because he has not known her before.
He searched for her for years. He gave up in his mid-thirties. She had changed her name and appeared to be untraceable. Then a friend asked if she could use Facebook to help. He had nothing to lose, and perhaps something to gain.
God's plan for him at his birth seemed to be centered around providing a child to an infertile family. That's the way we usually think of adoption. But he's more than that. He's a childless man, with siblings, nieces and nephews, that he is now meeting. His quiet demeanor as he was learning to love these blood-strangers left me awestruck. His gentleness is a God-given foil to his conception.
If his contact with his birth-mother had been hindered for just a little bit longer, it never would have happened. If he had met her at a different time of her life, the meeting could have been disturbing for him. She might not have wanted to know him.
It really is true that each life has importance. Every life bears fruit when we offer ourselves to God. The pain that began his life is now the salve to a weakening heart. I can say no better than Pope Benedict XVI:
"Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is loved. each of us is willed. Each of us is necessary."
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