A Gift from God
by: Jacob McDonald, grade 6
In a culture of life, every human being is considered sacred and a great gift from God. This life deserves protection and respect from creation to natural death. Sadly, many of the homeless, poor, preborn, sick, and elderly are not treated this way. I believe that these people are treated unfairly because they are voiceless, looked down upon, and are victims of unjust laws. It doesn’t have to be this way! I can help change our society for the better by my prayer, community service, and by treating everyone I meet with dignity.
My prayers and sacrifices are like an invisible army that can defeat the evil that binds and destroys the weak. Every day I can offer my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of that day for the end of the culture of death. In a culture of death, murder, abortion, theft, and crime constantly corrupt our society. However, I believe that my prayers could one day cause someone to turn away from abortion or suicide. My prayers could also move someone to donate to a homeless shelter or a pro-life clinic. Jesus says, “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). I believe that Jesus will answer my prayers and help these poor people.
Also, I can help these poor people by community service. One of the services that I have participated in is helping at the Thanksgiving dinner for the poor at Lambeau Field, which was a lot of fun! Another way to assist was taking part in a sock and underwear drive for children at Freedom House—a center for homeless families in Green Bay. Other things I can do to help promote a pro-life society include donating food to the homeless shelter and helping at diaper drives for the pro-life clinic. Helping these organizations may seem small, but it is really a great thing in God’s eyes.
Lastly, I can make a difference by treating everyone I meet with dignity. One way to respect the human dignity of others is by not staring at the poor or disabled. Another way of showing human dignity is not getting angry at the elderly who may be slow or hard to understand. By treating everyone I meet—such as the elderly, store attendants, and people at school—in a friendly manner, I am respecting their dignity.
In conclusion, I believe that prayer, community help, and treating everyone I meet with respect will create a better and more holy society. However, these simple tasks will create certain hardships. For example, patience, time, and money are things humans do not easily part with because we are self-centered. But praying, volunteering, and treating others kindly are basic actions that make you feel good. I believe that in a pro-life society people would feel better about themselves and would be kinder and more generous to the homeless, poor, preborn, sick, and elderly. In this society, all people would be seen as a sacred gift from God.
© 2018 Jacob McDonald. Published with permission.