Respect for life
Everyone is different, but we are all made in God’s image. Everyone is very important to God. The poor, sick, elderly, unborn and disabled are a little different than us, but they deserve to be treated with love and kindness too. God created them just like he wants then to be and He lives in them, just like he lives in us. As Dr. Jose Maria Simon Castelvi said, “God already thought of us before the creation of the world. None of us is extra. We are all desired by God.”
Our family sponsors children in other countries. They are very poor; they do not have a soft bed, they don’t have a lot of food, and their floor is made of dirt. Their families make about five dollars a month. Just because they are poor doesn’t mean that they are any less important than us, or that God loves them any less. The letters they send us show that they are very happy, trust God, and are just like us. We need to share all the blessings we have with people who need our help and show them Jesus living through us. Jesus said: “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me.” It is important to help poor people and treat them how we’d like to be treated.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta said: “Life is the greatest gift from God.” Life is the most beautiful thing God created. God has great plans for each baby and they are all special and unique. My family is blessed to know a few adopted friends, like Charlee Studnicka. Charlee’s birth mother made a very brave choice in letting Charlee live. Charlee is beautiful and a sign of God. Life is so precious, beautiful, and amazing. Killing the amazing life that God created, no matter what the reason is, is wrong. Babies are innocent; they depend on us for their life. Mother Teresa once said: “Babies are Jesus in disguise.” Jesus is in every human being. Abortion is not right. It is killing an innocent child who hasn’t done anything wrong. As Mother Teresa said, “It is a poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”
Mrs. Diem was my choir teacher. She was a great example of life. She trusted in God, and was always happy. She had cancer and was very sick. She respected God’s plan for her and trusted that he had a great path laid out for her, even though it was very hard. Mrs. Diem didn’t even show she had cancer. The sick are just following the plan God has for them. Be extra nice to sick people and try to cheer them up. Help sick people feel peaceful, and show them that Jesus loves them. Also, help very sick people feel ready to be with Jesus in heaven.
Evelyn Berndt is a family friend of ours who is mentally disabled. She has Down Syndrome. It makes her brain function differently from others, and it takes her longer to learn things. Grace Nelson is another friend of my family’s. She is physically disabled. Her body, especially her legs, doesn’t work as well, and she needs a wheelchair. We are a different and that is what makes us special. We all have things we are great at, and we all have things we can’t do. Just because people who are disabled can’t do certain things, they are not any less important to God. We all should respect each other’s talents and differences.
Everyone knows someone who is elderly. Elderly people are just like us, except an older version. They might not be able to hear or talk as well as we can, but we still need to respect and take care of them. Elderly people probably took care of someone when they were young, so now it’s our turn to take care of them.
All life is a humongous blessing. Life is God’s greatest creation. Our value comes from God, and God always loves us, no matter what. God doesn’t make mistakes and he created us exactly how he wants us to be. It doesn’t matter what we can’t do. Life is God’s life in us. We need to respect and help everyone who is different from us, just like Jesus would do. Life is a beautiful gift.
Essay by Lauren Miriovsky. Lauren is the granddaughter of Ron and Kathy McBroom of New Prague, MN, who are longtime supporters of The Lutheran Home Association. Read their story here.