When I was a young adult, I read a novel by John Irving, Cider House Rules. It was a story of abortion, presenting a sympathetic case for why a doctor would think abortion was a necessary and even noble choice. I was not a Christian at that time. In fact, I was an atheist. I didn’t believe in God and the novel moved me deeply. I bought the whole notion that an unwanted child was worse than a dead child. I was an abortion supporter.
Then in 1986 with the birth of my son Anders, I came to know the Lord. I examined the evidence and realized it required a greater leap of faith to remain an atheist than to embrace the truth of the Bible. My world changed, not only knowing the miracle of that newborn life, but also the truth of Jesus and His redemption of all who believe from the prison of sin. I was horrified by what I had believed and how I had led my life in willful disregard of the God I now wholeheartedly embraced.
I was astonished how the power of writing, of a fictional novel, had helped sway me to adopt such an inhumane position as the dismemberment and destruction of a living human being in the brutal act of abortion. The plight of unwanted children was masterfully presented by Irving...but I don’t recall any attention given to the plight of the unborn baby during abortion. It is the tactic of all abortion supporters: deny the humanity of the unborn baby and focus on the struggles of the women and children who had managed to successfully escape the womb intact.
For the past nearly five years, I have been a sidewalk counselor with Cities4Life pleading with women to choose life over abortion. Our ministry offers hope and tangible help to women who feel that abortion is their only option. I feel God has called me to do this work, and I do so with an overwhelming burden to speak for the unborn.
However to be honest, I am not a speaker. I am a writer. I love to write, and have always had stories bouncing about in my head and finding their way into journals, blogs, and manuscripts. Since I was old enough to hold a pencil, I have concocted stories. When I became a Christian, I continued to write, but now my soul became consumed with the desire to write novels that would point others to God. Recently, that desire has narrowed even more to write novels that point people to God and to a defense of the sanctity of life which He created.
The more I see of abortion in all its cruel reality from the perspective of my work with abortion-minded mothers and abortion workers who leave the industry, the more I feel a compulsion to tell that story. Abortion destroys so much more than the baby.
I just completed my latest book. It is a novel about a former abortion worker who finally recognizes she can no longer do her gruesome work. She runs from the images that fill her heart and soul, and encounters a pregnant dog who follows her home . The dog deposits her puppies on the woman’s kitchen floor and a journey back to hope and to God begins.
Click HERE to see print and ebook on amazon.com
I decided that if a fictional story like Cider House Rules could convince me in my youth that abortion was good... maybe I could write a novel that would convince people today that abortion was bad. Very bad. The book is based on a compilation of true stories from the sidewalks of the abortion center, though every character (except Jesus) is a fictional character and not meant to represent any single person, living or dead. The overall plot is fictional (and though a serious subject, told with humor to keep us all from weeping). The protagonist’s dog is a Carolina Dog, my favorite breed, and does depict the beautiful character of my beloved Honeybun (now deceased) who helped me as much as I helped her when I rescued her from near death on the side of the road.
My prayer is God would use this book to change minds and save lives. In the meantime, I will continue to stand on the sidewalk of the busiest abortion center in the Southeast and not only speak for the unborn...but write for them as well. Please join us. Summer is coming and needed vacations for our volunteers give new opportunities for others to stand in the gap. Click HERE for information on shadowing a team.
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Proverbs 24:11
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
Indeed! Congratulations on the new book! Keep on keeping on.
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