She wasn’t supposed to be here. Gianna Jessen.
I just “met” her yesterday for the first time. Through a video of her testifying before a government body in another country.
She had been in the womb for 7.5 months when her mother sought an abortion. Her amniotic sac was injected with saline solution, which should have killed her baby within 24 hours. Instead, Gianna was born alive. Weighing less than three pounds.
She should have been burned… blind… dead. She wasn’t. Nurses rushed her to the ICU in the adjacent hospital. The abortionist was not present at the time… where he could (would) have used other means to complete his work.
Ironically, he ended up having to sign her birth certificate. So she knows his name.
Gianna’s birth records document that she was born during a failed saline abortion. She came across a quote years later. Words spoken by the abortionist in her case. He boasted about having performed over one million abortions. Saying it was his “passion.”
Now, Gianna travels the world. Testifying. Not just about the botched abortion and its aftermath for her — cerebral palsy, foster care, adoption. She testifies about the One who saved her Life — You, Lord.
Gently… yet Boldly. Respectfully… yet Passionately. Truthfully. Lovingly. Powerfully. Lifting up Your Name, Jesus, with every breath. The One who has given her every breath.
“… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
I read some of the comments people made in reacting — responding — to the video I saw. People whose perspectives on abortion “did a 180” after hearing Gianna’s story. People who came away changed… for the better. Because they’d had a Near-Life Experience.
Isn’t that the best way to describe a “close encounter” with You, Lord?
“I am The Resurrection and The Life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
We all have stories to share… don’t we, Lord? And for those of us who have had life-changing “close enounters” with You, our stories can become “Near-Life Experiences” for others. If we will open our mouths and share them.
Maybe that’s why a certain TV show has become so popular. “The Walking Dead.” Because, in truth, there are so many people walking around dead of soul and spirit. In need of Near-Life Experiences. So they can come alive. Maybe for the very first time.
And then… forever.
The government body listening to Gianna that day voted against her. Against Life. Ultimately against You, Lord. But I can’t help but think… People who heard her that day came away changed. Even if it was only one, it was well worth the effort… Amen?
Forgive me, Lord, for all the time I have wasted. Your stories in my Life are far too precious to hoard.
Inspired,
Abba’s Girl