Hope

Despite many of the obstacles that this journey through infertility and adoption seem to throw in my face, there are days when I am grateful that God has given me this challenge. Today is one of those days. Though I'm not particularly thrilled to be faced with a challenge, I'm blessed for the ways it has changed me constantly. My point is that there are some things that have come to light through these challenges that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to discover. I have always been pro-life, but after all we have been through, my respect for life has multiplied time and time again. I have had a chance to truly recognize how absolutely precious and incredible the gift of life is. It is something that can be and is abused constantly, particularly through abortion. On this anniversary of Roe vs. Wade (the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.) let us pray that more women (and the men in their lives) choose life. May they find courage and support in making this incredibly selfless and honorable decision. Maybe instead of passing judgment on a young woman who is pregnant, we should celebrate her decision to choose life!

I will be praying a novena, starting today, to St. John Bosco. This is a novena for hope, particularly hope in our world, that we may wipe out abortion. If you would like to join me in praying this novena, you can sign up at Pray More Novenas. It is a wonderful site, run by an alum of the University of Illinois and creator of a pro-life nonprofit organization. If you sign up, you will join thousands of others praying novenas throughout the year. We usually pray one novena each month or so. During these novenas you will receive daily email reminders with the prayers for the day. I really love being a part of this giant prayer group. It has helped me to have a better prayer life and pray some novenas I wouldn't have thought to on my own.