When You Know You're the Sore Thumb

In so many ways, I do not fit into the world I find myself in. I love my friends, I love my church, but I stand out in my beliefs.

I'm not a stay at home mom. Beyond that, of all my close friends locally, I'm the only one that works a full time job with a small child who isn't yet school age. 

I'm not gearing up for homeschooling, because even if I weren't working full time, I would still choose to send my child to public school.

I support gay marriage, and I am pro-choice.

That last one is by far the most mind-boggling (or shocking) to my friends.

To clarify, I am not pro-abortion, and I want there to be fewer abortions, which is why I am pro-choice.

This article sums up very nicely why I, as a woman who doesn't want to see the number of abortions rise or even stay the same, am firmly pro-choice. I don't agree with everything written (the no 5k for Zygotes sounds silly, I know), but her facts are sound. The fact is that making it illegal isn't going to cause abortions to stop happening. Not in America or in any other country in the world.

"Overturning Roe, I realized, would not make women stop having abortions. Instead, it would simply punish women who have abortions by requiring them to risk their health to do so. This is all well and good if the goal is to punish women for seeking abortions, but if the goal is to keep unborn babies from being murdered, this is extremely ineffective."

I hope to never have an abortion. Losing one baby to miscarriage seems like as much grief as I can possibly bear in my lifetime, but I will always, always stand by a woman's right to choose, because I know in a dire situation, one with a baby incompatible with life or that would leave me to die to carry it to term, I would want to have the option of a safe and medically sound abortion, not to be left without a choice or only dangerous alternatives.

A social media friend of mine recently posted a lengthy status that she is a devoted Christian, and also a firm believer in making gay marriage legal. She stated, quite eloquently, that she was willing to be bold in her beliefs, and I want to do the same.

Even if you disagree with my thought, could I convince you to at least think through the other side of the argument?

And even if you think I'm insane for my stance, I don't believe that that stops our ability to be friends. One of my closest friends in the world disagrees with me on this issue and on many others. But it does not affect us being dear friends. In fact, she tells me often that one of the reasons that she loves me is because I bring a different perspective into her life. I make her think about why she believes what she does and she is also the one that is quick to remind me that even being a sore thumb, I still absolutely belong and am loved where I am in my church and with my friends.