She came to me with a problem,
That sweet, vibrant daughter of mine.
It took me back in my memories
To an earlier, less comfortable time.

I had been dreaming of college,
Of following where my mother led.
But surrendering to youthful passion,
I found myself pregnant instead.

My dreams of a life full of music,
Of learning, that whole college scene,
Were dashed by that time of indulgence
At the tender, young age of sixteen.

In that straight-laced age of the fifties,
A time of incredible shame,
Abortion was not even mentioned.
I married. My babe had a name.

I loved the little man of that union,
And treasured the additional three.
But they came by age twenty-one.
At twenty-five, an “old woman” I’d be.

So, when Karen came with her story,
A new option had become truth.
Roe v. Wade made abortion now legal.
And she could hold onto her youth.

I didn’t insist that she go,
It was all very matter of fact.
I offered no other solutions.
We went to check out the Act.

I thought we would have a discussion.
But the woman said, “No, just her alone.”
So I picked up a magazine and waited.
What would happen? I wish I had known.

I waited. --- And waited, and waited.
And gradually came to realize
They weren’t giving her any options.
Their “help” one day we’d despise.

She came through the door. – It was done.
We didn’t speak of it again.
I set my heart on a new husband.
And never fathomed her pain.

As I was building a new life,
Hers was spiraling in two.
She came to me - a mother.
I took her. We knew what to do.

Though I’d denied the God of my youth,
Something was touching my heart.
Again, she took care of the “problem”,
While I parked ‘cross the street in the dark.

For her, years of struggle and sorrow,
As I lived in a denying blur.
Two more babies, she gave to Moloch
Through the door I had opened for her.

But God, in His infinite mercy
Reached down and said, “Dear one, come.”
He rescued her from her sorrow,
And forgave her for all she had done.

She worked at a pregnancy center
And confronted the truth of the lies.
She savored our Father’s forgiveness,
And gradually surrendered her cries.

With time in my comfortable world,
I realized the pain I had caused.
I, too, found a pregnancy center,
And the unfailing mercy of God.

We both grieve for the sorrowing women
Who suffer from decisions past made.
And pray we can make an impression
On others in trouble, afraid.

God’s used our grief and our sorrow,
To reach out to others in pain.
And, with God, we take joy in the knowing
We’ll hold those dear ones again.