Savior of two girls who limp

Twitter is a strange mess.

Little blips of opinion, drudgery and nonsense described in 140 characters or less.

Occasional flashes of brilliance and inspiration.

If you've read this far and you're already lost, bone up here, then return to this blog.

People "follow" people they like, then "follow" the people they follow.

After all, if _______ thinks __________ is interesting, I must see what __________ has to say.

I've been adding a lot of names to my "follow" list lately. My follow-a-thon began when I looked at the profile of Entertainment Weekly columnist Michael Ausiello, and poured over the list of people he felt he needed to follow.

I think what's so appealing/intriguing about Twitter is knowing I'm (probably) reading the actual words of people I like or admire. And if I respond, they read my words. And sometimes tweet back!

You can communicate directly with someone famous without having a bodyguard intervene.

I'm also following people I can barely stand, like Joy Behar JoyVBehar, or Twitter kings like Ashton Kutcher aplusk, just to see what all the fuss is about. I like to have a balanced diet of information, even it includes a few brussel sprouts.

I noticed Rainn Wilson rainnwilson, an actor from the TV show "The Office" was appearing on an awful lot of "follow" lists, so I added him. I don't watch the show, but he's famous enough that I know who he is, and I have friends who are fans.

The first tweet I saw on his page made me lean forward and refocus my eyes:

rainnwilsonNice! RT @giannajessen Faithful, Savior of a girl who limps, comic, mysterious, Lord.

RT, by the way, means "re-tweet", which I learned on the tutorial above.

The original tweet was in response to this question:

rainnwilsonWhat God IS or ISN'T in 10 Words or less.

I recognized the name Gianna Jessen immediately. A survivor of a late-term abortion, she is now a singer, pro-life speaker and marathon runner. I've seen/heard several of her interviews.

You can't help but be moved by her story and her testimony.

I thought of her on Sunday, when the news broke of the murder of an abortion clinic doctor. This is how she responded to the story:

giannajessen i've just heard that george tiller (late term abortionist) has been shot. i oppose murder of any kind, and i survived an abortion @ 7 months2:48 PM May 31st from web

According to her web site biography, Jessen's biological mother was seven months pregnant when she had a saline abortion. Gianna was "burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb" before she was delivered alive in the abortion clinic that was supposed to kill her. Baby Gianna had medical issues, such as Cerebral Palsy. She wasn't expected to walk or even sit up. But she survived...and thrived. And today, she runs marathons in defiance of the original prognosis.

I think it's important for pro-life Christians to take a stand against the murder of abortion providers, and I'm glad someone with the high profile of Jessen is boldy speaking out.

If revenge is needed to right what we see is a wrong, that's God's job, not ours.

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.

Romans 12:17-19

People who know me, know where I stand, but this seemed like the right time to write about it in the blog. It's what we used to call in the TV biz, a "news peg."

I used to be "pro-choice" until I figured out that was my own excuse for weaseling out of making a choice. "Just let every woman decide for herself, " was my thinking. I'm sure many women have felt like they had no choice. It didn't occur to me that the baby had no say in the matter.

In another state, in another time, I sat silently as I drove a friend to her second and then her third abortion procedure. She had abortion #1 before I met her, so she knew what to expect. I just waited in the car.

I don't remember what I thought about as I waited, but I'm pretty sure I avoided thinking about the questions, "Is this right? What would I do?" In the years since, I've thanked God over and over that I never had to make that decision, because there's a time I might have made the wrong one.

And I certainly don't condemn anyone for making it. I've seen statistics that show 43% of women have an abortion before age 45. That figure is staggering.

Still, I've never known anyone who was glad she did have an abortion or a woman who didn't have one, who wishes she had made a different decision.

One of the former is co-worker who went public with her own abortion experience, then became a passionate spokesperson for a statewide pro-life group. She now is a spokesperson for a national organization that makes a case against abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

I know that for a lot of people, there's a big difference between the two. But to many who are pro-life, including me, the tiniest human is still a human.

Or as Dr. Seuss's elephant Horton put it, "A person is a person, no matter how small."

However real change in the pervasiveness of abortion will have to be the result of a heart change and not merely a legislative change. Slavery, segregation, oppression of women and even smoking in public buildings all used to be acceptable. Time and enlightenment have changed all that. If there are 42 million abortions worldwide annually, that's the equivalent of seven Holocausts in just one year. Hopefully one day our country, our world, will look back and ask, "How did we tolerate abortion, even condone it?"

Gianna Jessen's web site has a wonderful prayer from Mother Theresa that I'd love to see answered in my lifetime:

" God is using Gianna to remind the world that each

human being is precious to Him. It is beautiful to see
the strength of the love of Jesus, which he has poured
into her heart. My prayer for Gianna, and for all who
listen to her, is that this message of God's love will
put an end to abortion with the power of love."

Until that day, the power of politics is making decisions that are literally life and death.

I saw a video clip this morning of President Obama thanking Nancy Reagan for her work promoting embryonic stem cell and Alzheimer's research.

I wonder what the late Ronald Reagan would have thought of that, considering this was his view on abortion:

"I think all of us should have a respect for innocent life. With regard to the freedom of the individual for choice with regard to abortion, there's one individual who's not being considered at all. That's the one who is being aborted. And I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born. I think that, technically, I know this is a difficult and an emotional problem, and many people sincerely feel on both sides of this, but I do believe that maybe we could find the answer through medical evidence, if we would determine once and for all, is an unborn child a human being? I happen to believe it is."

-Ronald Reagan, Presidential Debate, September 21, 1980

"Maybe we could find the answer through medical evidence?" There's no doubt medical evidence is much more developed that it was in 1980. Have you seen an ultrasound lately? We can clearly see the face of a baby while she is inside the womb.

I would love for a cure for Alzheimer's to be found, but not at the expense of another human life. That price is too high. If I were told that a cure existed for my own auto-immune diseases because of research on aborted fetuses or "unwanted" embryos, I'd have to say "no" to treatment.

I had a less weighty decision to make when my leg was broken and needed disfiguring surgery. A Physicians Assistant at my dermatologist office suggested I try a certain skin cream to help with the healing of the six-inch surgical scar. What he didn't tell me was the cream was developed from an aborted fetus, or as the product's web site describes "a one time medical termination." Basically, that's an abortion that uses a drug like RU-486.

After I brought the cream home and read the formulation details online, I was livid. The next day, I went to the office to return it. My voice was shaking as I tried to calmly explain why I couldn't use it. The office wouldn't accept a return. "Policy," I was told. So to make my point, I left behind both the unopened package and the $80 it cost me.

That scar is with me always now as a reminder of my mini-stand for life. It will help my resolve if the mini-stand ever becomes a major one. If I catch someone staring at it, it gives me an opening to tell the story behind it.

And yes, I limp a little when I use it too much, and that includes running. I don't do marathons like Miss Jessen, but I've run a few 10ks and 5ks. Doctors told me I probably wouldn't run again after my accident, but I can and I do when I have the energy. God healed my crushed tibia so perfectly that the surgeon gasped when he saw how beautifully the bone had knit together.

I wish Gianna Jessen the best with her work to inspire others and save lives. Maybe one of the babies she saves will grow up to help her with the limp she has from Cerebral Palsy. Or even cure my auto-immune illnesses. And yes, solve the mystery of Alzheimers.

I'm now following Jessen on Twitter and will be checking regularly for her posts. Some are quite hilarious:

giannajessen just stepped on a scale. praying my way into outfits is always helpful.

giannajessen my cat was sitting on my lap and yawned and wheeew! stinky. very stinky. those mice must cause really bad cat breath.

And yes, most of what I find on Twitter is not too deep.

I just got an email telling me that Lee Ann Womack was now following me, even though I'm not following her (yet.)

Twitter is a strange mess.

And yes, I like strange.