God Doesn't Give Us Anything We Can't Handle

Recently, I contributed a story to the book, God Moments III: True Love Leads to Life, which will be published sometime in the future.

Since October is Respect Life Month, here is the story, "God Doesn't Give Us Anything We Can't Handle" in its entirety:

The meeting had ended and I was casually chatting with some of the attendees. One young woman handed me the ultrasound photo of her 14-week unborn baby.

"Beautiful," I said.

"I'm going to have an abortion." The words made me gasp. It was the last thing I thought I would hear from a woman showing me an ultrasound photo of her unborn baby. All I could manage to say was "Why?"

"The doctor is pretty sure that the baby has spina bifida because he isn't moving his legs. And I can't deal with a handicapped child right now." This particular woman already had two small children and she was currently separated from her husband.

"What about adoption?" I asked.

"Who would want to adopt a handicapped baby?"

"Lots of people would. I know many couples who have adopted babies with disabilities."

She looked down at the photo and shook her head. "I've already made up my mind."

I silently prayed, Please God, give me the words to convince her not to kill her baby.

"God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. He knows you can handle this. And…look at your baby. You have a picture of him right in your hands."

She sighed as she studied the photo.

"But his legs didn't move."

"Perhaps, but his heart was beating, right? He's alive."

"Yeah…I guess."

Soon our conversation was interrupted. I was disappointed because I didn't want it to end. Part of me wanted to shake her and say, "Please don't kill your baby!" But I didn't.

She walked out the door. On the way home, I continued to pray. I prayed for her over the next few days and weeks, afraid to call her, in case she had gone ahead with the abortion.

Two weeks later, she called me.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Okay." Her voice sounded quiet, almost sad. A lump formed in my throat. A few seconds passed. Finally, she spoke.

"I didn't have the abortion. I couldn't do it."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's wonderful. You won't regret it."

"You were right."

"I was?"

"Yes. When I went home, I thought about those words, 'God doesn't give you anything you can't handle' and I realized that you were right. No matter what happens, I can handle this."

Five months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy with no sign of spina bifida.

Photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach