Real Conversation at Purdue University: "I'm a miracle!"

I turned around after finishing one conversation and noticed her standing there, looking at the exhibit. I waved and smiled, "Can I ask you what you think about abortion?"

Typically, when I ask that question, people stand there and ponder the question for a moment before answering, but she was ready. After smiling back, she answered with another question. "Say there's a terminally ill woman who is passing on her illness to her unborn child, shouldn't we give the woman the opportunity to end her pregnancy so that she doesn't have to watch her child suffer?"

The question took me by surprise, but it reminded me of something I had learned from Stephanie Gray, a Canadian pro-life apologist. I asked this student if I could ask her another question and she said yes. "You have a friend on the other side of the world who calls you up and says, 'I just found out I have cancer and have only four months to live.' Do you wait until about month three and say 'I guess I should visit them?" Or do you take the next plane out?"

She didn't hesitate at all. "The next plane! Absolutely!" This was very encouraging to me, so I followed up, "Of course! Now apply that to the mother in the hypothetical situation you gave me a moment ago."

Her eyes lit up. "My mom did that!" She explained that her little brother had only been alive three days after he was born. Her mom stayed by his side every moment until he died. "I only wish I would have met him. I've never thought of him in relation to this before. I cannot stand by my question with that in mind."

We exchanged some stories and I got her name. Then she came up with a new question. "Say there's someone with a terminal illness who doesn't want to live anymore because they are tired of knowing they're going to die. Should we give them the chance to choose assisted suicide?"

Again, the question seemed to come from left field, but it brought to mind a question I find very important. I just asked, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Immediately a light turned on in her mind and she burst out, "I'm a miracle!" Diving into her personal story, she explained that she was born with what her doctors described as a terminal illness. Defying the odds, she turned her few month diagnosis into the young woman standing in front of me. "I'm only here because of a miracle! I cannot stand by my question any more."

We shared more stories about miracles we had witnessed in our lives. She wasn't a Christian, but she let me talk about the amazing things I have seen God do in my life and the lives of others. The last thing she told me was, "I would absolutely make every opportunity for a miracle to happen. I hope I get the chance to do that one day."

And she walked away.