By Tommy Rush
Last night the Annual Women’s Resource Center Gala took place at the Natchitoches Event Center. Two things stand out each year when I attend this event, the wonderful stories of life and the devotion of all the volunteers who faithfully serve at the Center. The Volunteers of the Women’s Resource Center are making a big difference and they’ve been doing so in our community for over 30 years.
One of the many great resources the center provides is the technology of an ultrasound which gives parents the blessing of seeing their child in the womb. Today ultrasound technology can be experienced in 3-D and 4-D. This means parents not only can see a physical image of the baby, but a video of their baby. It’s really amazing today how much can be determined about a baby before birth. Someone said with a 4-D ultrasound you can know whether the baby prefers doing back flips or front flips.
Of course a negative of such advanced technology is that it also reveals disabilities and other medical issues the child may face after birth. It’s disturbing that these diagnoses sometimes leads to a young parent choosing abortion. I know how controversial and heated the debate over abortion is today, but every life is precious and valuable to God!
Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The Lord God Almighty created every single life and He created each one for a purpose. There’s a lot I don’t understand about the ways of God. But I do understand that it’s a mistake to think a blessed and good life cannot be lived by someone with disabilities or someone who lives each day dependent on others for care. Forget disability – the truth is dependence is built into all human life! And we all know how a child living with a disability inspires a self-centered society to look beyond ourselves and our foolish notions of “the good life.” The good life is a life that teaches us what it means to love and be loved.
This week I preached the funeral for a young lady who was not only born blind, she was born also with Cerebral Palsy and unable to walk and talk. Throughout her 25 years of life on earth she was confined to a wheelchair. She left the wheelchair behind when God took her home last Saturday. Wheelchairs aren’t needed in heaven! During the funeral service, her cousin read a poem that had been written to honor her life. Tears were shed as the family listened to a song about dancing in heaven. Her mother described her keen sense of hearing and how listening to birds always made her smile. It was a blessing to know that caregivers from Holy Angels in Shreveport had come to express their love for her. I left the cemetery this week giving thanks to God for her “Good Life.”
