I wrote a few weeks ago that I’d begin making scarves, hats, and blankets for those in need. Well, I did…but I still felt like I wasn’t sure where or to whom God wanted me to give these things.  For so long, I’ve felt a tug in my heart to somehow work with babies, children, orphans, and in general, to tell people they are wanted, beautiful, and loved by God…but I wasn’t sure how to do it, or which organization to work with (because there are SOO many people in need, and SOOO many possible organizations).

Well, last night, I sat down to work on my crocheting.  A friend of mine recently had a baby, so I started working on a granny-square pink baby blanket.  I figured while I was working I’d watch a movie.  We recently got Netflix and I’d been wanting to watch the movie, October Baby, that I’d been hearing so much about in the past few months, so I did.  And woah…God really knows how to send a message!

The movie, October Baby, is a Christian-themed movie, but it’s approachable for pretty much anyone.  It’s about a girl that finds out she’s adopted, and not only that, but that her many medical issues all stem from the fact that she survived a failed abortion. It’s basically her journey to figure out who she is, where she came from, learning to forgive, and growing closer to God in the process.  It really was an incredible movie.

Again, for so long I’ve been trying to figure out what God wants me to do and I feel like this movie hit it on the head.  I just desperately want people to know they are LOVED and WANTED! I want to work with babies, children, orphans, and those that usually don’t feel loved or wanted.  So…I decided I’m going to start crocheting baby blankets, hats, and booties for the Clayton New Hope Pregnancy Center as well as sell them to donate the money towards another organization I learned about this morning…One Child Matters (previously called Mission of Mercy) that sponsors children in poverty around the world for medicine and better education, but also shares the Gospel with them. I will be calling the business (once it’s up and functioning) Covered by Grace, because we are- in Christ, we are all covered by God’s incredibly undeserved grace- and for those that buy in support of these two organizations, I want them to remember they are Covered by Grace, and I want the children I give items to, to remember they are loved and WANTED! I am so excited, but please be patient as it will take me a little while to figure out this aspect of a small, non-profit business.

Seriously, God is crazy awesome.  I learned about this other organization this morning via twitter.  Through this organization, they have an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya for children that have been abandoned.  They also have a children’s shelter in the Philippines for children rescued from the Human Trafficking system, and they do so much more, like mission trips, around the world.  ALL of these things are things I’ve desired to do and work with- mission trips to Africa, working with orphans, working against Human Trafficking.  I’m so excited to begin looking into how I can get involved and also selling my crocheting to donate the money where needed.

It just breaks my heart to know people around the world believe they are unwanted and unloved.  Going back to the subject of October Baby- the movie and the testimony of one of the actresses about why SHE had an abortion when she was younger and how God used the making of that film to bring healing and forgiveness, it really challenged me to think.  For so long the church has talked about how terrible abortion is and how wrong it is, yet they do it with a twinge of condescension and disgust.  We want abortions to stop, yet people stand outside abortion clinics yelling at the women going in, which really only pushes them to get in and out faster.  We want abortions to stop, yet we cut the disgusted eye at young, single moms and young, single pregnant women.  It really is no wonder so many girls go to get abortions, they are (a lot of times) scared, embarrassed, ashamed, and hurt.  Just like the actress in the movie (that actually played the birth mother that tried to have the abortion) it seems easier to get rid of the “problem” because then no one knows unless you tell them, rather than have people KNOW you made a mistake and look down on you.  Maybe…just maybe, if we loved more and stopped yelling at/blaming/pointing fingers at them, THEN maybe we’d save more babies.  Yeah, she made a mistake, so what, don’t we all?  Didn’t Jesus, in John, tell the people around the adulterous woman, you who have done no sin, cast the first stone?  We’re all screwed up and make mistakes, those single moms/ pregnant girls’ are just more obvious.  Do we point fingers at them to hope no one notices our flaws?? So, instead of being jerks, instead of being the people Jesus spoke out AGAINST, let’s BE LIKE JESUS!! Let’s help theme celebrate the NEW life they’re bringing into the world, let’s help them make the BEST decision- keeping the baby or giving it for adoption.  Let’s help them grow THROUGH it rather than abandoning them in the midst of a REALLY hard and confusing time.  And yeah, some people will argue that will only encourage young women to do it more…okay…maybe…but maybe not.  And isn’t it worth the risk if it means not killing innocent lives.

Love the woman and then maybe you’ll be part of saving them BOTH- mother and child.

October Baby

One Child Matters

If you’re interested in having anything crocheted, please e-mail me: egeiger11@gmail.com but also please be patient- it will take me a while to look into how this aspect of a business should work- legally/taxably speaking.  Thanks!