child slain by Lanza while still within his mother?

Of course, this unthinkable tragedy may lead others to hold their children a little tighter this holiday season.  Perhaps, the parents, who were focused on purchasing presents, will instead take their children to church for the first time and refocus on the true meaning of Christmas this year.  Maybe, a frightened unwed mother saw her unborn child in the faces of those sweet, Newton students and found the resolve to embrace her motherhood.

Basing our perspective on truth is necessary if we are to rightly judge the circumstances we encounter as we live out each day.  If God creates all persons and if He creates all persons in His image, then each person is worthy and valuable. 

Spending a little time thinking about the real life characters documented in the Bible, we meet a diverse bunch through whom the Creator chose to make manifest His plan of salvation.  It is than that we gain a clearer perspective.  Greedy tax collectors, weak-kneed Apostles, adulterous women, stubborn prophets and unborn babies were His ministers to carry out His work on earth.  Of course, those who were living in sin were called out and they ultimately chose the better part, a life for Christ and in Christ. 

My family's openness to life and our surrender to the possibility of suffering allowed Our Creator to reach down from the heights of the universe and form a perfect, unrepeatable person, made in His image.  We hope to hold the result of our openness, to stare deeply into the eyes of this expected child at the appointed time.  Irregardless, though, we stand firm on the truth that our sacrifices will not be in vain because abandoning oneself to the Divine Plan always has an eternal reward.

Nibbling another salt cracker in an attempt to keep my nausea to a tolerable level, I offer this simple prayer, "Lord, thank You for this day, for the chance to cradle this baby in my womb.  Thank You for allowing me the privilege to sacrifice myself for another.  And thank You for shaping my perspective by way of Your cross."  

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Tara K. E. Brelinsky is a home schooling mother of seven living children with six more heavenly ones who intercede.  Married to her childhood sweetheart, they make their home in North Carolina where they teach Natural Family Planning, grow a garden, raise two dogs, a cat and a bunch of chickens.  Tara studied journalism a lifetime ago in college, but now she writes for the the glory of God.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: unborn, St. John the Baptist, abortion, pro-life, sacrifice, motherhood

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