I don't even know who you are, but I have a decently good feeling you exist. Given that millions of women in the United States have an abortion each year, it's hard to think that out of at least my Facebook "friends" not one would be in that statistic. So whoever you are, this letter is to you, and it comes from the depths of my heart.
I can't pretend to know what your decision must have been like. I could never say that I understand all of the difficult situations that millions of women have been put in, yours included. I would imagine that such a decision was accompanied by fear, pain, and anxiety that my words could never adequately describe...but maybe not. Your story is your story, and it's sacred. God forbid me to make assumptions that would take that dignity away from you.
By now you have seen the stream of articles and tweets I've been posting, exposing and condemning abortion and specifically the illegal sale of "fetal tissue" by Planned Parenthood. And while I stand by everything I've said and supported so far - that abortion is evil, horrific, and an abomination to our Creator - there is something more that I want to say, and I hope that I haven't pushed you away to the point that you won't listen. You, my friend, are loved.
Your baby was loved by God with a love that He possess for all the men and women he has created in His image. You too are loved by this King of the universe who knows every detail of your abortion and every other sin you've ever committed (and ever will commit). I want you to know that Christ's love and forgiveness reach further than your abortion, just as they reach further than all of the sins I too have committed against God and my fellow human beings. "...as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12)
Your baby's death does not have to mean your death. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) The reason this is true is because the blood required for the sins of all those who would be united to Jesus was spilled by Jesus on the cross of Calvary. "...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrews 9:22b) "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) Your abortion demands wrath - as does my pride, my envy, my lying, my gossip, and my unbelief. That wrath is just, and it is imminent - unless you find yourself united with Christ, in which case that wrath is finished. (John 19:30)
I weep for your baby, and I weep for you. That little boy or little girl never had a chance to see your face, or be satisfied with milk, or hear a lullaby before bed, or celebrate a birthday. And you have had to carry around the weight of such a tragedy (whether your felt it or not) and attempt to live with this secret sin that if known, could mean the end of so many things: a relationship, a reputation, a redo. Your baby is gone now, and I can no longer speak to him or her, though I fight for justice in their name. But you, my friend, I can speak to you.
You, my friend, are loved. By God and by me. I hate abortion, but I don't hate you. The Father is calling, and I pray that for you it is an effectual call. I pray that in the bosom of Jesus you would find all of the compassion and grace that I know your heart longs for, because mine does too. "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Praying fervently for you,
Amber
