Ever look back and try to figure out where and why interest in a certain issue was sparked?   That is exactly what I have been asking since moving deeper into the issue of abortion.  As I wrote in the intro to Prayer for life, I was fine with my position against abortion and the belief that I would never choose nor condone the choice for abortion.   Somewhere back in time though, something had to start changing that mindset.  Something had to make me realize this is a much bigger issue than I could imagine.

Before November,  I did not nor did I know anyone personally that has had an abortion.  Now I may have met women that had, and of course for obvious reasons never knew nor did the topic come up.   What I do know is that for awhile now this issue has been percolating stronger in the back of my mind.  Where did it start?

Well today I read a blog post by Tammy Hodge.  She is a fellow blogger (whose blog I found by a random link 3 years ago), and a person I have never met in real life.  From all indications following her blog and twitter, Tammy is as real as you can get when it comes to being human and following Christ.  Her blog post today was about the gifts of her Children and in it she says:

I do not know why I have been blessed with these two children. I really don’t. But I do know this…they are the most beautiful gifts I have ever received. Most assuredly undeserved.

And that last sentence sums up Tammy, understanding her life as a gift is undeserved, but a gift of grace from God.

What you need to know about Tammy is she, as a teenager, had two Abortions.  She has blogged extensively about her story, and the moments she had to tell her husband Brent, and her two children Kassidi and Dakota. (I will have to dig to find the links, they are powerful.) She is currently working on a book about the day she told Kassidi about her abortions.

About 3 years ago or so when I first read about her abortions and the pain caused by the men in her life at that time, my heart broke.  If you know anything about me you will know that a man hurting a woman in anyway just is not acceptable.  (Let me stop and say that I am not immune to this, I have done my share.  Thank God for his Grace) And that is what intrigued me about Tammy, and her story.  It is a constant question I have had, what if men stood up and took on the task they are called  by God to do?  What you find out about Tammy’s story: Brent, her husband, was/is a man who stands by her after hearing about the abortions, and has helped her with the healing because he to understands Grace.  So I have to wonder what would happen if Men stood up sooner?  What if with Christ they accepted the responsibility, placed on them by God?  The issue of abortion, and many other issues, could just about be erased.   That is the prayer I pray.

Since last November I have met and talk with women who have had abortions, and their stories are very much the same.  But Tammy’s blog, that is where this all got sparked in my heart… A blog post I found by a random link that WordPress appended to the bottom of one of my early posts.  Now God is putting tasks in front of me that I never imagined I would be involved in.

Please read Tammy’s Post  MY GIFTS, and understand the true power of God’s gift of Grace.

And men… Please, Please, Stand up.