God Doesn't Create Us For Nothing

As the young boy sat on my lap in the crowded church, something very surprising happened that provided an important message for us all.

All children should be loved, valued, and protected by every single one of us. God doesn't create us for nothing.

It was just before Christmas. The Catholic school my children attended was having a Christmas prayer service. All the students, their families, and friends were invited to attend. More people attended these all-school events than the church could handle, and they were always very crowded affairs. After the children were dropped off at the school, parents and younger children, grandparents, and friends had to wait until shortly before 10:00 a.m. to be allowed in the church.

By the time the church doors were opened for all-school events, many people had gathered outside the front doors and inside the church narthex by the chapel. School-aged children were escorted by their teachers from the school, just a short walk away. Once all the students and staff sat down, very few seats were left.

On that particular day, I had already parked in the busy lot and was walking my children over to the school when a friend drove by. She was going to play guitar during the prayer service and asked if I would sit with her son, who attended a public elementary school and was there to attend the prayer service. I thought back to the special years when my youngest two sat with me during these events, until the time each of them joined their big brother at the school. I was so happy to have the opportunity to be in the company of a young child once again, especially on this very special occasion honoring the birth of our Savior.

By saying yes, that meant that the child and I would be allowed entry into the church early, and so we were able to secure two seats in the back row on the main floor. It was a beautiful prayer service with all the children participating, from the littlest in kindergarten to the oldest in the eighth grade. The cute little second graders reenacted the Nativity story, a special tradition each year for them in anticipation of receiving their First Holy Communion in the spring. The music was joyful, the praise abundant, and the prayer meaningful. What a festive, thankful, Christ-centered occasion.

My friend’s young son absolutely loved the music and happily waved his hands in the air. He was filled with joy in the special way that children are, and it was a moment that I will always remember and hold dear. During that very prayer service in honor of the infant Jesus, something happened that was very significant.

My friend’s son ended up at some point sitting on my lap because it was so crowded that we offered one of our two seats to someone standing. As I held him, it felt as if I was holding my very own child. I have held many children in my lifetime and love them all, but the only ones I ever held that felt like my own children were my own children. I have not even experienced this with my nieces, whom I love very much. It was totally supernatural, it happened with good reason, and I absolutely knew it.

The little boy that I was so privileged to hold has Down Syndrome.

Recent studies in the United States indicate that when Down syndrome is diagnosed prenatally, 84% to 91% of those babies are killed by abortion (Down Syndrome and Abortion, Susan W. Enouen, PE, posted on physiciansforlife.org).

Just who decided that these children's lives should be terminated? Certainly not God, who in an act of love, willed each of them into being in the first place.

One of God's Ten Commandments given to all of humanity is, "Thou shalt not kill." He didn't say don't kill, except when we feel that we should, or when a doctor or nurse or volunteer or friend or family member or spouse tells us that we should kill. He said, "Thou shalt not kill."

That means that we are not to take it upon ourselves to end the lives of other people.

All God’s children should be loved, valued, and protected by each one of us. Interesting how God chose this very child to be "my child." Special needs children ARE OUR CHILDREN. They are of immeasurable value to us and to our eternal salvation and their lives are worth defending.

What a blessing this boy has been to his parents, his family, his community, and to our world. What a blessing he was to me that significant day, and what a blessing he is now to you.

Special needs children's lives are worth defending, for in loving them, we accept the love of God and love God in return. We TRUST Him.

May we trust God with our welfare and with our eternal salvation, with our own lives and with the lives of others. He doesn't create people for us to destroy them. May we trust Him in all circumstances, and rely not on our own understanding. Rest assured, God knows what He is doing and He loves us, every single one of us. He doesn't create us for nothing.

If you, or anyone you know,
is suffering from post-abortion trauma
and is in need of help and healing,
please contact:
http://www.rachelsvineyard.org

Please pray for an immediate, global end
to abortion and euthanasia.

God doesn't create us for nothing.

Every life has purpose.

God is at work in you!