Simple Truth of Life: Kids Rock

I have the awesome privilege of traveling around the country, on behalf of The Radiance Foundation, and meeting all sorts of amazing people. From breast-cancer survivor/thriver Gayle Atteberry of Oregon Right to Life to the multi-racial, adoptive Watts family in Virginia to the “Father of Prolife Activism”, Joe Scheidler, in Chicago to Chilean missionaries at our UN Panel Discussion in NYC to Tyler Oboy in rural Marion, Ohio.

This past weekend, I was there to address the “Social Injustice of Abortion” which is a multi-media presentation that shows how abortion is inextricably linked to poverty, fatherlessness, and human trafficking yet passionately supported by today’s so-called “civil rights” organizations. After the Marion Citizens for Life event, I got to do what I love best–meet and get to know people. I met the Lovell family who had two adopted boys from Russia who were technophiles like I am (it is an addiction I’ve been battling since childhood). I met another adoptive momma who spoke about how her daughter changed her life. A middle-aged man with mocha skin like mine thanked me for sharing powerful facts as he walked away with lots of Radiance postcards, factsheets and a sense of empowerment. It’s not often you get to hear about the NAACP, Girl Scouts USA, Planned Parenthood, the United Nations, and the EndIt Movement all in one speech.

And then, little 8-year old Tyler came up to me. He shook my hand with a huge smile across his face. I’m a dad, so I’m really partial to kids. He was so excited to hand me something he created. The little hand-crafted letter immediately grabbed my heart. It read: “Hi Bomebrger, I liked your show is was ansome (awesome). I like the pichers. My mom is the opiner (opener) when she tell about good people. I hope you can cep (keep) tell about how aborshon is bad. Love, Tyler…the kid drowing pichers…look on back.”

I was paraphrasing 1 Timothy 4:12 during my speech, to never let someone despise you because of your youth. Whether you’re 5 or 95, God can use you. And here, unbeknownst to his mom and dad (who thought he was just drawing and not paying attention) a young child was hearing what was being said and connecting with it. I’m fighting back tears at this point. Then, I turn the sheet of paper around to find a drawing of me on stage talking about “aborshon” complete with the screen and an image of a baby on it. I hugged that little boy and hi-fived him and thanked him for the “best gift anyone in my audience” has ever given to me.

You see, Tyler understood this issue more than your normal 8 year old. He was adopted–an embryo adoption. And out of the 5 embryos that his parents adopted, he was the only one to survive. Lives like his are snuffed out regularly, because some “bioethicists” say they’re not really human. He looked pretty darn human to me. Embryonic stem cell research disregards the humanity of the lives they regularly destroy as if human embryos can be anything other than human…anything other than a precious life waiting to simply grow into what he/she was meant to be. From the way his parents were beaming at his letter and artwork, I knew he was–without question–adopted and loved!

We walked together to my car as he told me about the things he liked about school. He loves building things. He loves gadgets. He was so full of life…so full of joy. I can’t wait for that little boy to build bridges to others’ hearts with his own story one day. His drawings will always be a part of my heart. They’re a reminder that we can never underestimate how our words and actions impact the young.

In a little town called Marion, I was reminded that we all have stories. And when those stories move from silence to sound, lives are changed.