Life As I Know It
By Nicole Daughhetee

I’ve been asked how I can be a Christian and support Obama. As an aside, I would like to take a brief moment here to say how impressed I have been that our pastor has said, twice now, that Obama is not the anti-Christ — that whoever our president might be, we, as a people, need to pray for that individual. I thought it very well said.

The question posed to me hinges primarily on two key issues: abortion and gay marriage. The Bible, in my opinion, is not open to personal interpretation. God’s word is distinct and clear when it comes to issues regarding murder, homosexuality, drunkenness, tithing, and so on.

The Bible is also clear in messages regarding judgment of others and loving the sinner even though we do not condone the sin.

I am far from being perfect, and I am the first person to admit my own flaws and foibles. Figuratively speaking, I live in a glass house. If I am making it up, I’d like it to be some old gothic castle pictured in a photographic calendar of romantic haunts along the Irish countryside. (I would also have the luxury of affording a full-time staff of people who love to wash windows, one of my least favorite chores, right up there with dusting!) Back to the glass house…
Because I “live” in one, I choose not to throw stones at others.

As a personal choice, I do not believe in abortion, which is to say I doubt I could ever make that choice for myself. I don’t condone abortion as an acceptable form of birth control. We all know how babies are made, and there are plenty of measures men and women can take to prevent pregnancy.

That said, I don’t think abortion should be illegal because, as a woman, and as a mother of daughters, I don’t want anyone dictating what I can and cannot do to and for my body.

I’ve given this idea a great deal of consideration, and the one scenario I cannot get out of my mind is this: what if one of my daughters were sexually molested or raped and that horrible victimization of my child resulted in a pregnancy? How could I prolong her agony for nine months longer than necessary? Force her to live everyday with the reminder that someone had hurt her and left her not only with what I can only imagine is terrible emotional pain, but also with a growing physical reminder of the agony she endured?

As a mom, I don’t think I could stand by and watch my child be hurt again and again — knowing that she had no choice in the matter — just like she had no choice when she was initially victimized. My gut instinct is always going to be to protect my children. And I will do so knowing that one day I am going to have to stand before God and explain my actions and behaviors. I am going to have to be accountable for the choices I have made.

In my way of thinking, I suppose I try to put myself in the other person’s shoes and ponder how I would feel in a given set of circumstances. As a kid my Mom always said “never judge another person until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” These are words I try to live by because I am neither judge nor jury.
Each of us is entitled to have our own opinions, and I think we should learn to agree to disagree rather than being judgmental of others because we don’t always see eye-to-eye on the same issues.

You might call me idealistic or naïve, but you can’t say that I don’t appreciate and respect other people’s opinions — even if I happen to disagree with them. Treat other people the way you would like to be treated. I think those words, while paraphrased here, are also Biblical teachings.