It Could Have Been a Wonderful Life

The year 2013 will be a milestone year for me, as I will be turning 40 this August.  There have been a lot of good days, bad days, great days and awful days for a nice mix that I think I can look back on and say it's always been interesting, and I pray there's a lot more to come.  But what if there's not?  As a matter of fact, what if I never had these forty years?

For those who have not seen, "It's a Wonderful Life," the main character, George Bailey, gets to see what life would have been like, how the world would have been, if he had never been born.  It's not a pretty picture, as all the people he helped, and in some cases whose lives he saved, never had the benefit of having George Bailey in their lives.

Something else will hit the 40 year milestone this year, the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned all state laws regarding abortion and claimed it was legal in all 50 states.  Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in that case, later had a change of heart, and is among many trying to overturn the case that has devastated our land.  Over 55 million children, through surgical and chemical means, have been denied the most fundamental right, life, from which all other rights flow.  In terms of sheer numbers, we have outdone Hitler's concentration camps and Stalin's Siberian camps combined.

Each year, as the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade approaches, the fact that my birth year is soiled by this decision both saddens and enrages me more.  The fact that I will be 40 this year, while several hundred thousand who should be blowing out the same number of candles this year cannot, and while thousands more die daily, a numerical Sandy Hook every couple minutes, is unacceptable to me.  There are times I want to cry out to God, "Take me, and let them live.  I'm worth no more than they are."

I don't think God is going to oblige me on that intention.  Maybe He knows I need a lot more purification before taking me home.  But it got me thinking, what if I never had been born?  Three other children by extension never would have existed, as I was never around to conceive them.  Any family and friends, strangers who benefitted from a good deed I may have done, those interactions, lessons learned, good times had, love given, they all would have never occurred.  Maybe it's time to try that, never having been born.  Take the day, January 22 of each year to express solidarity with those who never had a birthday.  Make your absence known in some way.  Personally, I'm starting small.  I'll be disappearing from Facebook and Twitter from January 22-25 (the date of the March for Life).  If other people got involved and did it for a week, it could almost be a pro-life version of "going Galt."  Imagine contributing nothing on behalf of those never given the opportunity to contribute.

I had a lot of concern going public with this, as I know many of my friends and family disagree with me on the abortion issue.  I may get unfriended in some cases, especially in the cases of friends who may have had abortions or possibly worked in the abortion industry or simply are offended.  That's a risk I feel is worth it if getting the message out saves one life.  To those who might unfriend me, know that I love you, and I'm not looking to judge any person, but rather an action, which is completely different.  There's nobody alive who can say, "I'm not a sinner," without lying.  If you've had an abortion, performed abortions, contributed financially to fund abortions, God is waiting for you.  He is waiting to pour out His mercy on you, and embrace you, and say, "Welcome home, beloved child!"  Even if you shut me out, let Him in.

I've said my part in these last few minutes before I change the timeline.  I am not Benjamin Mankowski.  I was never born.