Hey! Let's Talk About Abortion!

Okay, now that I have your attention, I have a proposition for you…  

Want to do something totally different this summer?  Want to join me in something I bet you’ve never done before?  How about helping me write my blog?  A potentially heart-wrenching, but hopefully heart-healing post, but a post that shares perspectives and recognizes old (or new) wounds so that they can began to heal… and helps others to heal too.   

Interested?  Even a little bit?  Maybe?  At least enough to read more?  If so, here’s how it works….  

To help me with this project you have to commit to two things.  Just two.  Neither is hard, but I will be honest about both actually taking a bit of your time.  Not tons of your time, not your whole summer or anything, just a few hours over the next couple weeks during which you will read a novel and then respond to it – like a book report.  Then, I will do the rest of the work - reading what everyone has written and compiling the responses, along with my own, to create a blog post about the book, the theme, the stories offered from you, and the love of the Father.

So, still interested?  Beginning to get interested?  Think I have lost my mind and have been out of the classroom far too long if I am actually asking grown adults to voluntarily complete a book report during their summer free time?  Well, regardless, hopefully you are still with me and at least a little bit willing to consider the idea.  I know it’s crazy.  And I know it’s odd.  But it is also something I have wanted to do for a really long time and really feel like now is the time to try.

I realize that the storyline of the book I’ve chosen contains many controversial topics, but that’s kind of the idea.  When I originally read the book it struck me right to the core.  I don’t want to share much at this point as I do not want my words to influence your response, but I will tell you that the book left me hurting for the walking wounded among us – inside the church and outside of it.  It is a book I think everyone should read and that cannot be read without evoking some sort of response, and that is why I am inviting you to join me in this endeavor.  The idea is really frill-free.  Basically, I just want people to be honest and open so that each person’s thoughts and stories may be shared for the benefit of others.  

Over the next few weeks I will reread the book from cover to cover and finally (I’ve wanted to do this forever!) write my own personal response to its characters and content.  I will address how my own personal history intersects with the book and how I have been changed by and grown from it.  There is a little voice inside me that says this entire idea is crazy, but there’s also a much louder voice inside encouraging me to move forward and try it.  And, more importantly, a small prodding whisper telling me there is work to be done and it’s time to get on it with it.

So, I invite you to join me.  What’s the worst that can happen?  I read a book I love all by myself and post a personal reflection to it on my blog website that no one ever reads.  The end.  Worst that can happen.  In reality, no harm, no foul.  But I have a sneaky feeling God has something else in mind.  That this is a chance to bring people together.  To address a difficult subject in a faith-building, love-offering way and to allow someone somewhere the opportunity to share a story or begin to heal a piece of his or her past in a way that is long overdue and will bring glory to God in the process.

So, think about it.  Pray about it.  Check out the book and ask a friend if it the whole thing is crazy if you like.  But if you are game, dive into the story, give it a read, reflect upon it with an open heart and open mind, and share what you take away from it.  There is no judgment in this.  No condemnation.  I’m not looking for any right or wrong answers.  I am just seeking input from others to see where it leads.  I have no hidden agenda.  I am simply responding to a heart-felt prodding on my part and asking you to join me.

If you have any questions or need more guidance, please feel free to ask.

Here is the assignment:

1.  During the next three weeks, read The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers.  (Please reread the book if you have read it in the past so that you have a current working knowledge of its text.)

2.  Write a response to the book.  Whatever you want to say. However you want to say it.  How did the book affect you?  How do you relate to one or more of the characters in the story?  Who, or what, from your life did the story remind you of?  What does the story put on your heart?  Who would you recommend the book to?  What new insights did the book bring to light for you?  How does the book prompt you to respond to the world around you?   Whatever you want to say, even if it feels totally off-base or foreign or slightly risky.
 
As a note:  I have no desire to instigate a debate about abortion through any of this, my aim is for each of us to respond to the culture surrounding the topic moreso than the morality of the physical act and to take a look at the effect of the abortion culture on those in contact with it and on the church at large. 

3.  Message, snail mail or email me your response so that I have it by July 1 (Just let me know if you need mailing/email information).  ALL responses will be read only be me and no part of any response will be used in the final blog in an identifiable way.  Names, places, dates, etc. will be changed as necessary to protect everyone’s anonymity.   Again, I have NO desire to instigate a debate about abortion, my aim is for each of us to respond to the book and the characters portrayed in it and the ramifications of abortion on the world and church at large.  

So, there it is.  A proposition of an unusual kind, but offered in all sincerity.  Hopefully you will join me.  Hopefully this will go somewhere (come July, we will see).  And hopefully you won't be afraid to read my blog posts after this given what I titled this one...