• She was born dead. But this was no physical death; she died simply because no one wished for her to live. She was a mistake, an accident. Her parents thought of her simply as the product of one foolish night. They didn’t want her. Like all other mistakes, they just wanted to put her behind them and forget. So they did.

    Growing up, she moved from house to house and family to family. Eventually, she learned to shut off her emotions. If she avoided attachment and love, she would never be hurt. This was her mantra. At a very young age, she struggled with suicidal thoughts. After all, if no one wanted her around, what was the point in existing? She couldn’t find anything special or necessary in herself. She believed she would never make any difference in the world. Her only purpose was to live and then later die, so why not speed up the process?

    As she was relocated again and again, she discovered that there was something she could always depend on, which had the uncanny ability to sweep her from her terrible existence and into worlds unknown. This liberating escape was embodied by art. When she poured her heart out on the canvas, whether it took the form of notebooks, a sketchbook, her hand, or her history notes, she could feel her spirit lifting, and would often catch herself smiling faintly, with a faraway look in her eyes. However, these moments of euphoria only made the rest of her life seem all the more wretched.

    Finally, when she was sixteen, she was permanently adopted. No more foster homes. She could not have asked for a better, kinder family to be a part of. They were Christians, so she had to attend church. At first she didn’t like it, but then when she got to know the people in the youth group, it became fun. Best of all, they allowed her to attend as many art classes as she could handle. As her skill developed, her instructors could tell that she had a promising future. The summer after she was adopted she went to church camp with her youth group. While there, she became a Christian. From that moment on she saw her artwork not only as a blissful release from the stress of life but as a way to praise her Lord.

    As she matured, she became even more passionate about art and about God. So she began to speak at churches and schools, using art to communicate the beauty of God’s creation and his immense love for everyone. Because of her, thousands of lost souls found salvation. She inspired many desperate young people who came from similar backgrounds as hers. All of this good came from a child who was seemingly invisible and that might as well have been dead. While other children had only to live the lives given them, she had to find her life – her reason to live – before she could even begin living it out. But she did. And she helped so many others as well.

    Unfortunately, this is only what could have happened. This was a possible future for that little blob on the ultrasound. But her young, inexperienced parents saw her only as a blob on the ultrasound and nothing else. They were so frightened of facing the consequences of the actions already performed that they failed to evaluate the repercussions of the decision they were about to make, which they had the chance to change. Why didn’t they just think about the possibilities?

    Sure, they told their selves that they were doing what was best for “it.” They tried to moralize by saying adoption would be a horrible experience for “it;” they wouldn’t be able to care for “it.” They didn’t even have enough faith in her that she could rise above and overcome. So, at eight weeks, they chose to abort. That living human being, however tiny, was brutally murdered. And as her parents left the hospital, hand in hand, they breathed a joint sigh of relief. The crisis had been averted. But they never anticipated that, later in life, they would never get to see that amazing, talented, but young artist and speaker. They would never give their lives over to Christ. Although they didn’t realize it, by dodging the immediate consequences, they created even worse ones, not only for themselves but for thousands of others.

    Unfortunately, this is what did happen.

    They didn’t give her a chance. They didn’t give her the life she deserved. They didn’t even give her a name.