Editor’s note. Over this week and into the next, NRL News Today will repost all six of the winning essays from the 2023 NRLC Essay contest. Today we are posting the third place winner in the Senior Division, grades 10-12. The Junior Division is grades 7-9.
Healing During a Disease
By Sarah F.
In March of 2019, my mother and best friend was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that sentenced her to a lifetime of struggle defeat, and ultimately death. From the time she received the diagnosis til the date she passed away (September 25th, 2021) my family and I took care of her every need while her body declined. Watching my mother go through that journey contributed immensely to my belief on being pro-life. A memory that rings forever in my mind is from shortly after my mom was diagnosed. She put together care packages for those who were newly diagnosed also with the disease. Among the treats she put in the package, she also put a tract that told these sorrowful people how to get to heaven and that this diagnosis isn’t the end of their journey. It encouraged them that there is fundamentally still a reason to get up out of bed every morning—essentially a bigger purpose. God is that purpose. Glorifying God was my mother’s goal all along.
My mom got to a state where all she could do was sit and watch TV. She was wheelchair bound and to top it off she could not speak. Her tongue muscles could no longer move to form words; ultimately all that she could do is use her voice to just make sounds. Many people could make the argument that her quality of life was less than ideal and not worthy to even be lived and possibly bring in the idea of assisted suicide. That would be jumping to conclusions because on the outside it may have looked as though my mother did not enjoy her life, but she did!
No matter if she could speak or not, her brain and the way she thought did not change. She loved being with her family and enjoyed the small things in life even when being constrained by the disease. My mom never once wanted to not be alive. She understood the importance of life even though by others’ perspective there was nothing “enjoyable” about her day-to-day life. She knew the concept that God tells us about living and choosing life (Jeremiah 1:4-5 KJV). God said He knew us before we were even born! God knew all about my mother’s struggles before she was even an adult and still chose for her to be born in spite of knowing she wouldn’t live a full life. Sometimes we don’t know why God chooses paths for our life, but we are to trust His judgment anyway. I am pro-life because going through the experiences I did with my mom and seeing her combat for her life even if wasn’t a grand one. She left me an amazing example of what being pro-life looks like and I strive to follow in her footsteps and advocate for lives that are worthy to be lived.