the amazing gift of life

i really enjoy reading skirt magazine. i try & pick it up every month at harris teeter during one of my shopping trips. it's definitely a feminist magazine, not that i would call myself a feminist, but this magazine is all things woman. skirt has reads about great bargain stores in charlotte, great high fashion boutiques, ways to make a difference in the city, & also tips in regards to anything from the kitchen to the gym. all in all, it's a great magazine.

as i was flipping through yesterday morning during breakfast, stopping occasionally to browse through an article, one in particular caught my eye. the title of the article was something to the effect of "abortion; our love story." now i know this is an extremely controversial topic that i'm not going to delve too much into, BUT i did have some strong emotions towards this article. as i began to read the article, i realized that the author's purpose in writing this article was to explain how she, as a 31 year old, happily married, highly successful, financially sound woman, found herself pregnant & devastated. the article continued to tell the story of how she & her husband made the decision not to have the child, but to have an abortion instead. she concluded the article with describing how in turn, this decision brought them closer as a couple & deepened their love for each other.

my point in addressing this article is not to bring light to the many, many ways i see this article as completely screwed up, but more towards how one thought continued to play through my mind as i read...

"she's completely missing it. all of it."

this woman & man, who made the choice to have an abortion due to the fact it just wasn't a good time for them or that parenting wasn't something that they wanted to do as a married couple -- whatever their reasoning may be, were completely missing it.

my heart broke that this couple gave up on an opportunity to experience the amazing gift of life. a life that was created out of their love for each other. i could only think of how just the night before, while babysitting my nieces, i got to hold madeline on my chest while she slept. she's not even my child, but all i could think was "i love this child so much it hurts" & " i'm amazed at how beautiful every little part is." from her tiny little lips to her long pretty eye lashes. her small delicate finger nails to her itty bitty toes. as a baby she is so pure & every little piece of her was created out of the love my sister & brother-in-law have for each other. not any small piece of her was a mistake, but a thoughtfully made creation! this couple in the article is now going to miss out on this miracle of life because a child just didn't happen to fit into their perfect picture of how life is supposed to go. if only they could have seen the amazing gift of life that would've been...