It’s been almost a week since we came back from the 2016 Care Net conference and my mind has just started to settle and digest all of the information offered. I was clearly a young pup among some of those I met who have been charged up about the pro-life movement for longer than I have been alive. Although, when I walked up and down the exhibitor’s aisles I felt I belonged and I had a purpose that I was called to be there. I knew that I had met an extension of my tribe. Same values and belief systems towards God’s purpose for our individual lives that fit perfectly in our individual history and stories. In any tribe you can see that the beliefs may align, but the process to which you get common goals achieved can be different. But the more I started to see the differences in the paths to which I believe in my soul that Vitae’s Right Brain Research is the right message to save lives, I confess I became confused by my feelings of disdain towards what I perceive to be empty efforts. You see, I believe technology is an accelerator of the right message and if you don’t have the right message you may be accelerating messages that could go against the mission.
I learned about organizations that fit specific needs to complete the circle of our common goal. What I did learn when our conversations became deeper than the weather and the elevator speeches was a concern about evangelism first. One new friend said “Jesus healed first, then evangelized.” It is clear that everyone I met were Christians who have taken on this very heavy responsibility to help save unborn children, but had differences in opinions that they would stand behind and possibly not hear the other side. I confess, I might be one of those. I believe meeting the girl where she is with information is what will ultimately save an unborn child. I’m not guessing, I’ve been that girl.
My fellow exhibitor neighbors were most amazing. We shared stories that were inspirational in both ways and later grabbed pizza and a show with Julie and Derrick from The Love Chromosome. This connection will likely live outside of conferences as the friendship felt deeper than the weather. Julie wore our Choose Life shirt and we grabbed seven of the shirts that she had designed. She has the extra chromosome that her grandfather said was the “love” chromosome. Every day, women abort unborn children after finding out they have Down syndrome. How can this be okay? My biggest confession is that after the conference, I became very angry. Anger for Julie, anger for those who are met with judgement and angry at those who push their own agendas misinterpreting God’s character. This passion to help save the unborn child is burning brighter because of Care Net.
We’ll be back next year. Our souls will be a year wiser and our hearts a deeper understanding.
