What's your favorite song??? There are so many to choose from but I'd have to say mine is...well if I had to narrow it down to my favorite, favorite I'd have to say "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed. But if you want to see some of my select favorites (including Banana Pancakes) you can visit my "Dead List" at Spotify- DanaAlexa Hope. Think back to being a teenager, heck still as an adult-we hear a song and we try to figure out the meaning behind it. Sometimes we can find out exactly what the artist was meaning other times it's simply left up to what it makes us feel liks it means.
How about your favorite book??? Wow, I've read so many in my life but I think I'd have to select either "Option B" or "The Gift of Pain." I love reading books with friends and then discussing them. It's incredible that when a group reads a book, there will be as many interpretations as there are people in the group.
My favorite movie happens to be "Shawshank Redemption." If you must ask why I don't know if we can even be friends! Is it Tim Robbins, is it Morgan Freeman, is it the great line-"...get busy livin' or get busy dyin'," or perhaps it's the way Andy took punishment for what he didn't do then-well you'll have to watch the movie if you haven't!
My favorite color used to be red but it's drifted more to yellow. My favorite shoes used to be Chacos but now it's my Birkenstocks. My favorite food changes depending on what I'm hungry for and my favorite drink is sometimes water but others I love a margarita with no salt.
All these things have a common thread-they are all open to interpretation. My interpretation. No one has the right to force me to like a song, book or movie or to get the same message from them. Three major faiths share a belief in one God-Judism, Christianity and Islam all found their beginning in the Old Testament of the Bible. They have many common threads but they've been woven by different interpretations (human interpretations of a book inspired by a diving God).
This week, my heart has really been with Texas and their ruling on abortion. $10,000 reward for reporting an abortion...how about $10K for every rapist you turn in? I don't really want to debate whether abortion is right or wrong. It's not an option I could imagine choosing but I don't feel it's right to take the safe option away from women who may want to choose abortion. Compassion. That's all I have to say about that.
Church today spoke to me. Keep in mind I don't know if how it spoke to me is what Heath had in mind. The things I share are the interpretations of me-not anyone else.
The highlights I quickly jotted down were:
- When Jesus was asked about ethics (34 times in the bible) he turned it back on the one asking the question THIRTY-ONE times!
- Jesus had no complicated creeds or expectations, simply LOVE your neighbor as you love YOURSELF.
- An ounce of love is worth more than a pound of knowledge.
- Christians shouldn't draw sharp lines between us (holy) and them (those who need to change).
- Love does no harm, it doesn't degrade.
- Bible standard for belief & behavior should only be interpreted through the LOVE of JESUS-even the devil manipulated the bible for his own purpose. Humans can make the bible say anything they want.
- Jesus summed it all up with, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
- Jesus had a magnetic pull about him-people just wanted to be around him.
- Jesus constantly practices and preaches forgiveness-even when he was being murdered on the cross, "Father forgive them...." Jesus rose, not even death could stop him.
Now for my interpretation as it connects to women seeking abortion...God knew Jesus came to die. As a parent, I'm fairly certain it must have broken his heart to see his son die. But oh what saving grace, what a lesson we christians have gotten from his life and death. I cannot possibly began to imagine let alone understand every single situation that may lead to a woman seeking an abortion. It's not my place to cast judgement or tell her whether she can or cannot have an abortion. My job is to love her.
When I try to imagine how it would feel to be raped and learn I was pregnant because of it-I would have three choices-have and keep baby, have and give up for adoption baby or have an abortion. Two of those options mean my body will be carrying a baby that I did not want, one created from a union that was not intended so day in, day out through the pregancy I would be reminded-not every woman has the support or the emotional/mental wherewithall to go through that. A prescidence is now set that unless she realizes she is pregnant by six weeks she has no choice but to keep the pregnancy viable.
Now I'm trying to imagine the single mom, the one who is on birth control but for some reason it failed. She is doing everything she can to make ends meet and just can't afford the expense of doctor visits, prenatal care and the hospital stay, missed work, another mouth to feed and definitely can't afford day care. Six weeks of which two of them she has no idea she's pregnant. When she's late she chalks it up to stress or maybe she doesn't even pay attention because she's so busy. (Please don't even condemn her for sex outside of marriage...don't even go there. I'll refer you to Nadia Bolz-Weber and her book "Shameless" for my reasoning.)
I could go on and on with possible scenarios but that's not my point. I don't think Jesus would be for or against abortion. I think he would be for us loving the women no matter what they decided to do. Jesus was the ultimate forgiver. If we are to be even a little like him then we need to not make laws that could harm another. The embryo, the fetus, the pre-born baby...if their mother chooses abortion it will almost certainly be a decision she agonizes over-the saving grace is she will be reunited with that baby someday...just like women whose bodies spontaneously abort like mine has done TWICE.
Jesus loves me, Jesus loves you, Jesus has enough love and forgiveness for the world. Jesus thou art all compassion; help me to be more like you and have the same forgiving nature. Help others to recognize you through my love for others because no words I could ever speak would be loud enough, I must be fully invested in the world around me recognizing that unfortunately my privileges are not universal. I bet most of the world isn't blessed with the same privileges you are. :)
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