Van Talk

I’ve learned that the three minutes following school pickup – the time it takes for me to get from school to our house – is really precious conversation time with my oldest.  He is the most honest, the most forthcoming and the most sensitive in those few raw minutes after a busy day at school.  It’s in those three minutes that I see Baby Will, the one willing to tell me anything if I just ask.  Because he was sick last week, he had quite a bit of front seat time.

Over a series of days, as we shuttled kids back and forth to school, we talked about a lot of things.  You’ll recall that nearly two years ago, at the tender age of 8, he asked me all about Hooters.  Well, this convo was along the same serious lines.

We were in the drive-thru at Starbucks when I saw a text come across my phone.  A friend was relaying some information about the latest sonogram bill, up for a vote in the Texas legislature.  For my non-Texas friends, this has been HUGE news.  It’s basically requiring that any woman about to have an abortion must first undergo an ultrasound.  She can certainly refuse to look or hear the heartbeat, but lawmakers believe it falls under the ‘informed consent’ arena.  I think I made a comment like, “Why wouldn’t they pass that bill?” when Will asked, “What bill, Mom?”

As he quickly approaches his tenth birthday, Scott and I are offering to answer his questions on a bit more adult level.  We’ve never believed in sheltering our kids, but we also choose to share age-appropriate answers.  I explained that some woman choose not to have their babies.  And while some give them up for adoption, others choose to end the pregnancy.

“But, why would a Mom choose to do that to her baby?  Doesn’t she love it like we love Luke?”

I then had the arduous task of explaining that the decision is very difficult for some women.  And then I encouraged Will to pray for all those moms.  Then the car got really quiet.

You know, I don’t know what it’s like to have to consider abortion.  To see it as a viable, possible option.  But I know that there are good women out there who see it as their only way out.  Out of a billion “ways out of something”.  It’s in that moment that I knew they didn’t need our judgment or our criticism.  No.  They need our prayers.  They need to know that by choosing life, they can never choose wrong.

As we grabbed the caramel apple spice from the Starbucks barista that morning, I realized that little by little, all the van rides, dinner chatter and quiet moments with our children – no matter how long they may last – we are shaping and molding our children.  I pray that Will grows up to be a man of principle.  A faithful man, to His God and to his family.