Just spoke to a friend and she was curious whether I was going to blog about Gov. Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy. The thought had never really occurred to me; it didn't seem like any of my business. My friend changed my mind when she told me how much media coverage it has generated; because I can't imagine what could justify that. What pregnant 17-year-old, with so much already on her mind, wants to be made a headline?Is this supposed to be a scandal because Palin is a "conservative," running on "conservative family values?" Is anyone honestly asking if Palin encouraged her daughter to become pregnant at 17? Here's the newsflash: 17-year-olds make their own choices.
Objectively, the choice Gov. Palin's daughter and a young man made when they engaged in pre-marital sex was wrong, and there are many different facets as to why that is. The consequence of their choice was a pregnancy - a child. Now, talk about writing straight with crooked lines - God took their choice and has blessed the world with a new life, a brand new human being who can live eternally in the Trinity! And Gov. Palin's daughter gets that; she is carrying this child to term. It can be easy to be pro-life in the abstract; but that 17-year-old is being pro-life when it really counts, when it hurts. Let me hear a sound bite celebrating that!
Now, I'm sure she and her boyfriend realize that they should have waited, and regret the fact that they didn't. But I hope they also realize that God loves them and that He gave them the grace to accept the "consequence" of their choice, the BLESSING of a CHILD. And we need to
keep this young family in our prayers, that they can be the kind of parents that Mary and Joseph were. (You remember Mary don't you, that 14 or 15-year-old girl who found herself pregnant out of wedlock?) God was with Mary and Joseph and things turned out pretty well (although it probably didn't look or smell like it would in that Bethlehem stable). I know the present situation is different, but God's desire to transform this young man and woman into successful parents and give their child a good home isn't. Oh yeah, and props to Barack Obama for telling the media to drop this "headline."
keep this young family in our prayers, that they can be the kind of parents that Mary and Joseph were. (You remember Mary don't you, that 14 or 15-year-old girl who found herself pregnant out of wedlock?) God was with Mary and Joseph and things turned out pretty well (although it probably didn't look or smell like it would in that Bethlehem stable). I know the present situation is different, but God's desire to transform this young man and woman into successful parents and give their child a good home isn't. Oh yeah, and props to Barack Obama for telling the media to drop this "headline."
Great post Shane! I agree totally. She could have easily "taken care of" this situation without anyone ever knowing about it, but she did the right thing, the hard thing, instead. If Obama's girls ever get pregnant while young, he doesn't want them to be "punished with a baby" as he's said...So we'll never know it! I'm sure there are lots of politicians who's daughter's did the same thing, but we'll never find out - because they took (what they THOUGHT was) the easy way out and had an abortion. Appreciate you saying this!! - Deirdre Purdy
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