Tomorrow morning I leave for California to accompany my brother to our sister's home in sunny San Diego.  Andrew , my brother, was born with a cleft pallet (a large gaping space in his face that included the incorrect placement of his nose, misplaced tooth buds, a hole at the top of the roof of his mouth).  He also had such significant hearing loss because of a closed ear canal and thickening of the skin in the other ear. At the time of his prolonged birth he lost oxygen and certain intellectual and physical abilities were impaired.  I had German Measles when my mother was in the early stages of her pregnancy.  It is because of that my precious brother carries with him through life a cross that is large. 

 Ambassadors LifeNetwork celebrates life.  We celebrate all life from conception (well, actually even before that...God had us in His mind from the beginning of time) through the time of each person's natural death.  We celebrate the life that is ours and the life of our neighbor. We celebrate life even though our hearts might be broken because of a failed marriage, a lost job, poverty, a badly timed pregnancy, a great evil that has befallen us or our precious loved one.  If our finances leave us in a bad predicament, if we are homeless or forsaken, we still celebrate life.  Living is worthwhile.  We are loved by our creator, precious in His eyes, and still very capable of LOVING others.

 Ambassadors LifeNetwork is about that LOVING.  So many of us have a passion for caring about the child in the womb who might be threatened by a premature death because someone just doesn't understand how beloved this child is or because of a great fear of the future. Wouldn't we all say, "I'll take him/her!  Please, you don't need to take the baby's life. I will help you out.  I have friends who will help you through this.  This child is destined to bring a great love into the world!"  But most often we don't know where that woman is who is suffering or who might not be aware that this glob of cells isn't just an entity that can be disposed of.  So often the cars that pull into the place where their child will be killed don't even see us or hear us.  So, what can we do?  Many things.  The greatest of these is LOVE.  LOVE the person next to us in church.  She is the one who is suffering in some way or in need of a simple smile or notice.  LOVE the members of your family.  Practice loving with your whole heart there, especially your husband.  Take time to listen to your children, take time to just be with them.  Take time to go to Harvest home or to one of the pregnancy centers or jail or to Maggie's Place in Cleveland.  Take time to visit your neighbor and bring some homemade cookies (or a bought pie!) or just say hello as you pass.  These are a few ways where we will meet that woman.  We are that woman.  Our neighbor is that woman.  It is fear that leads someone to kill their child.  It is ignorance that leads someone to kill their child.  And fear hits all of us.  Ignorance hits all of us.  Let's try to be Ambassadors to the world.  Let's start in our own little world.   

 Andrew has lived a charmed life even with his many disabilities. First of all, he was a part of our family.  I still remember feeding him pureed foods so carefully when he was young.  We couldn't be just tied up in our own life.  Andrew needed us.  It is really a gift we receive when someone needs us.  My parents were something else!  My mother taught Andrew in the summer the materials he would have the next year so that he could get through school.  He graduated from high school and was cheered at graduation when they called him on stage to tell him how much he meant to all of the them. He learned to drive a car while my Dad (who was always high strung) took the pains to teach him and be patient with him and give him that dignity.  Andrew had a further neurological breakdown and needed to have medication when he was about 18 just because of the way he was wired.  This disappointment for his "future" was big.  But my parents continued trying to find the best situation where he could live his life out and find the best quality of life.  My Dad at 90 years old was still taking Andrew with him for rides to get the paper, to greet all of the people in town and play chess with him and telling him how greatly they loved him.  My mother was still tenderly making his food and helping him not to choke and giving him those special daily hugs.  They were giving him guitar lessons and golf lessons.  They never gave up on his advances. Andrew is without them now.  But his life remains precious and worthwhile and we as a family are trying to help him to continue to find the best quality of life.  Andrew will stay with his sister for two weeks and he can hardly wait.  He will be going to a Padres game (Andrew knows every sports statistic), he will spread joy and happiness wherever he goes.  I am a little nervous about what we will do together during our three hour layover in Atlanta......how many people Andrew will say hello to!  But, I will try to remember my parents and looking for ways to do the best thing for him. God finds purpose for us even when our "best possibilities" are stripped from us.  As I love Andrew, I love the possibilities that God has for me.

 May God be with you all as we celebrate the fourth of July......our freedom to be a country where all men can be free to pursue God and the possibilities that he has given to us.  This freedom comes with a price tag.  It is the price of love.  It is the price that Christ paid for us on the cross.  He gave up His life that we might live.  Let's give up a little of our life so that those around us can experience that redeeming love.  Let's give up a little of our life so that we reach those who are in need of HOPE. 

 Blessings from my home to yours.   Watch for some important information in an update I will post later today.

Sharon Morris

Ambassadors LifeNetwork