I wonder what happened before the birth, if the doctors had advised her to have an abortion and she refused because of her faith, because it sounds like she disconnected emotionally long before the birth. I know that if it was my child I would still have tried to hold him and do something for him; you probably would have been prying me off him to avoid hurting him. But then, I wasn’t there and didn’t see the defects you mention. I can understand how it must have been that the family just couldn’t cope at first, but to go that long without even asking after him is more than heartless, not to mention hypocritical.

I can’t believe the pastor didn’t even inquire after him, or a grandparent, or somebody.

You are right, Glynis, that many churchgoing people are wrapped up in ritual and litany, stained glass and Sunday best, without being able to apply that faith in the midst of life’s realities. To be fair, many just aren’t raised to be real or in the world, such as that young mother seems to have been protected by her mother from the ugliness of her son’s birth defects. But many of us are trying very hard to apply our faith and be the real hands and feet of Christ to those who need us. The purpose of going to church is to be part of a community that will encourage us to do just that, and to support each other and be accountable to each other, and to care for each other when we ourselves need lifting up. It’s also to keep people from falling into heresy, imagining some vision or new interpretation of the Bible alone in their room.

So, just to explain why community is important, though you probably already knew that.

Thank you so much for sharing this story, and for being Christ every day.

Take Care,

Kiki Stamatiou (Joanna Maharis)