Children of God

Yesterday when I was leaving the adoration chapel I was approached by a woman that is a driving force behind the Pro-Life movement in Staten Island. We had a very long chat about all kinds of things, including abortion and euthanasia. She actually told me some things that I found absolutely appalling, such as some large companies using stem cells from aborted fetuses to make flavor enhancing products or preservatives. I have to admit that I just wanted to say to the lady, okay, goodbye and run away from her to get to my computer and look up what she was talking about. There are websites out there that have "fetal free products" listed on them, but I am still not sure if this is a certainty or an urban legend. Some of the products listed were ones I use often, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, OREO & Pepsi, but I could not find a definitive answer on any of it.

When I got home the conversation made me think of things that had never occurred to me before and some things that I have contemplated. If this is true how would that make a woman, who believes in choice, feel about her unborn child being in a night cream? Would I be comfortable in knowing that the child that I aborted might be getting smeared on my face in a collagen based product? Better yet, having a bowl of Mac & Cheese with the enhanced flavor from someone else's unwanted baby. This is inconceivable if true. Makes me want to stop eating any and all processed foods. I can tell you for a fact that the box of OREO cookies in my cabinet has stopped calling me when the hunger pangs start. I should be grabbing a carrot stick anyway. Here is my incentive to do so.

Now it seems that with all the testing expectant mothers go through that you can now pick and choose if you want that perfect baby or if you should get rid of that one that might not be. God help anyone that is faced with the enormous challenge of knowing that you are carrying a child that may have problems. I know a young woman that was told that her child was going to be born with Down's Syndrome. She was faced with a very difficult decision. She loved her baby though. She could feel it growing inside of her and saw the occasional kick against the belly wall, the hiccup, the belly roll when the little one moves around in the amniotic sac. Against the doctor's wishes, she decided to keep the baby. She had a normal, healthy baby girl who is now a top student, a beautiful girl and a very active one as well.

I have a special place in my heart for special needs children. I believe that they are ALL children of God. Well, all children are God's children, but ones with special needs, I believe, are nearer and dearer to God than any other person on the face of the earth. I don't think that it is an accident that children with special needs are usually the kindest, most loving of all humans. I have known children with Down's and they are the most loving and cherished with the purest of hearts. When I see a child in a wheelchair, on a commercial for St. Jude's or Ronald MacDonald House or the face of a child with autism or Down's Syndrome, I am looking at the face of an angel on earth. They are the ones that the rest of us have to learn from. I believe that they will go directly to heaven when they are finished teaching the REST of us a lesson in love. They do not need it; we do. My hat is off to any parent that decides to keep a child that may be different. I think that many will agree that their child is a gift from God and that their lives have changed and they have learned and grown as a parent and a human being because of that child. I will take it one step further and say that those that have been blessed with those special children are special in their own right. They usually have the love, patience and fortitude to nurture the child and provide whatever it is that they need. Those children are as beautiful as a perfect white lily. God blesses the lilies of the field.

The next time you see the face of a child that is a little different, realize that you are looking into the face of God. The packaging might be different, but God is inside each and every one of us and the beauty will shine through. Nobody is perfect, including you and I, so try to remember that. If God calls you to be the parent of a child with a special need, pray and then do what He would want you to do. If you decide to dispose of the pregnancy just remember where that precious gift of God may end up.

Peace
Mare