Daly Focus Blog
I saw a video that illustrates the important role fathers play in the lives of their daughters. It captured a dad in his living room watching a basketball game, jumping and yelling in support of his favorite team. Right by his side, his three-year-old daughter copied his behavior. She mimicked every jump, every hand clap, and every expression of excitement.
Then the mood changed. The dad started shouting at the television. He complained about a blown call.
Like a lot of first time moms, Jerusha Clark kept a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting on her bedside table. She referenced it frequently. Mostly she stuck to topics on eating well and her labor and delivery.
Looking back, she remembers skipping the section on postpartum depression. Why bother? She was generally a happy woman. She enjoyed her pregnancy, and she loved being a mom when her child was born.
A few months later, everything changed.
Since returning from Washington, D.C., and my interview with Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse this past Monday, our broadcast studios, offices and meeting rooms here at Focus have been buzzing with activity.
As I announced on Monday’s radio program, Focus on the Family has launched the largest pro-life effort in our history. It’s our bold and determined response to the heartbreaking New York legislation that endorses later-term abortion and the Virginia governor’s shocking and unapologetic endorsement of infanticide.
Is your heart as heavy as mine over the news surrounding abortion in recent weeks? It’s only been a few weeks since New York passed its barbaric abortion law legalizing murder for any reason at any point during a pregnancy, and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Delegate Kathy Tran argued that abortion should be legal right up to birth – or even beyond. Now, lawmakers in New Mexico and Vermont are looking to expand late-term abortions.
President Trump’s highly anticipated State of the Union address last night before a joint session of Congress featured a series of dramatic and moving moments, including salutes from WWII heroes who stormed the beaches of Normandy, a veteran who helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, along with a man who was rescued – and it even shined the spotlight on 89-year-old former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the man who planted the American flag on the surface of the moon fifty years ago this summer.
I know of a couple whose daughter disappeared from home in a fit of rebellion on her 18thbirthday. Her parents were devastated. For years, they didn’t know if she was alive or dead.
Early on, her mother made a simple decision. Every night – all night – she would turn on the porch light. It was an unspoken message to her daughter: “You’re always welcome home.”
Many nights, tears streamed down that mother’s face as she locked the front door, switched on the light, and prayed for her daughter.
Author Joe Pellegrino discovered it’s never too late to let your children know you love ‘em. When his son Joey was little, Joe taught him to play baseball. As a challenge, he told Joey, “If you hit the ball over my head, I’ll buy you the Lego pirate ship you’ve been wanting.”
As Joe remembers the story, Joey never hit the ball over his head. Joey remembers the day differently. Over the years, those differences in memory occasionally came up.
New York state has recently signed into law a barbaric piece of legislation which would allow a woman to abort her child at any point during pregnancy, and specifically during the third trimester. The law only requires that the mother’s “health” is at risk. The term “health” is so broad that it could mean anything from medical, physical, psychological to financial issues.
Shockingly, there were celebrations throughout the state in response to the passing of this legislation, with lawmakers cheering wildly.
A few months ago, I got a chance to visit with Greta Henry. She’s the director of Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center in Champaign, Illinois. She’s also their director of adoptions and oversees their residential program for women called Merci’s Refuge.
She asked me to come and speak at the pregnancy center to almost 1,000 workers and supporters. I was happy for the opportunity to share my heart with people who are so dedicated to standing for life.
I returned from Washington D.C. this past weekend following a series of meetings, media interviews and special ministry sponsored events that culminated with the 46th annual March for Life.
It’s an inspiring experience to stand on the stage and look out over the sea of humanity sprinkled across the National Mall, hundreds of thousands of pro-life stalwarts, many of them young – all of them united in an un-equivocating devotion to working together towards a day when every baby’s life, in every state, is protected under law.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
