While a high school junior and living in Sidney, Montana, I was privileged to play the role of Georg Von Trapp in the musical The Sound of Music. For a small community, it became a rather large production. The role of Maria was played by a superb soprano (Beth Petrik). We appeared on a nearby television station and even performed for the governor. Two to three thousand people attended the two performances. What a memory!
The real Maria Von Trapp was quite a woman! Several decades ago, a book was published titled, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. A particularly interesting story was shared about how the family arrived in America while Maria was pregnant with her son, Johannes. He would be the youngest of their ten children. But almost wasn’t.
In this same time period, the Von Trapps were in a financial struggle.
The family had recently lost their fortune in a bank crash in Europe. During her pregnancy, Maria visited a doctor complaining of severe back pains. She was told she needed to abort the baby.
From her book Maria wrote, “Your wife cannot have another child,” the doctor informed Georg, “at least, not until the kidneys are back to normal. They are both badly infected … The child has to be removed, of course, immediately.” As a devout Catholic, this was an unacceptable choice. One she refused to make. The doctor went so far as to say, ‘The child won’t be born alive; this much I can tell you.”
But he was wrong. After much prayer, Johannes was born a healthy American boy. Maria Von Trapp has encouraged families to trust in God when they are facing similar struggles.
A more recent and dramatic story of a life preserved was shared last June in a radio broadcast of the ministry Focus on the Family. It told the story of Claire Culwell. Claire’s birth mom was just 14 years old when she gave birth to a daughter after an abortion procedure took the life of Claire's twin in the womb.
Claire’s birth mom, Tonya Glasby, became pregnant at 13. Obviously, a very scared young girl. But what to do?
Tonya explained, “And so I confided in my best friend Romy and told her…It came down to where I had to tell my mom, the most frightening day of my entire life.” The response from Tonya’s mother was immediate. “We’ve got to get rid of it. We can’t…you cannot do this, you cannot drag our family name through the ground.”
Tonya would indeed go to an abortion clinic to “dispose” of the baby. And then returned to school. But all was not well. She told her friend Romy something was wrong. She still felt “pregnant” — which she was despite not being sexually active.
The first abortion clinic refused to do another procedure as Tonya was too far along. They sent her to Kansas to abort the 20-week-old baby—a twin to the first! But things changed. Tonya decided to give birth and put the baby up for adoption—against her mother’s wishes. This she did. And Claire was given life!
Remarkably, birth mother and daughter were later reunited! God healed the relationship of Claire and her birth mom through a spirit of forgiveness. Both women now boldly speak out for preborn babies. Claire, now married with four children, is also the author of a new book, Survivor: An Abortion Survivor’s Surprising Story of Choosing Forgiveness and Finding Redemption.
Many churches recognize the third Sunday in January as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. This year, that date fell yesterday—on January 16th. However, a number of churches will mark it on January 23rd because of the anniversary of the famed Roe v Wade decision. (January 22nd)
Chicagoland has many pro-life ministry resources. Support them. You never know whose life you’ll save.
As the Scriptures tell us, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” - Jeremiah 1:5
Life. It’s a beautiful thing.
That’s Forward Thinking. Click on the link to the right to connect via Facebook.
You can find a number of YouTube episodes and podcasts of Mark’s program, Moving People Forward at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosyuBzdSh1mXIas_kGY2Aw?
For more information on the Elfstrand Group, please visit www.elfstrandgroup.com
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