Earlier this week we shared our exciting news with the wide world of Facebook; after two precious little girls, we will be having a baby boy in February! I think most of our friends knew that we were praying for a son, so their excitement for our family meant a great deal to both my husband and I. As we shared a picture of a little flannel onsie along with a sweet tiny profile of our boy from the ultrasound, the likes and comments came flooding in and our friends were clearly overjoyed for our news.

The next morning, when I turned on my phone, I continued to be astounded at how many friends were still celebrating with us. It truly is amazing that a little baby boy at only 21 weeks gestation could get so many feels from friends and family all over the country. And then I remembered an article that I had shared about another 21 weeker on my Facebook page just a few months ago. Why did he only get 6 likes and my son got 590?

Because my son is wanted.

Planned.

What we had been praying for.

But this other baby… he was just an inconvenience. He didn’t have a name and he certainly didn’t have hundreds of people cheering on his existence. But like my son, he had a heartbeat, fingerprints, a little button nose, and a set of DNA that was exclusively unique to him, never to be replicated again. This other little boy was aborted by his mommy. And besides the fact that he wasn’t wanted or convenient, there was zero difference between him and my son. So why were so many people excited about the life inside of me and not the life inside of her? And can you really be in support of one life and not be devastated about the loss of the other? I don’t think you can be.

Because they are both people.

The baby boy inside of my belly already has a name (please don’t ask. It’s awesome and you will find out what it is in February) and he is loved beyond measure. And if, God forbid, something would happen during our pregnancy and we would lose our sweet son, we would share the news of our loss on Facebook and I’m sure we would be met with an overwhelming number of condolences and wishes for peace. But that little boy I shared about a few months ago? Very few grieved the loss of his life. There were no prayers for peace. Some didn’t even see his existence as life; they only saw him as a choice. And he didn’t have a voice, so the choice was made for him.

Just like my own son, this other little boy was conceived in a broken world; a world full of hurt, corruption and messiness. It’s a world full of choices. And just as my baby was formed, this other boy was masterfully created with intention and purpose, fearfully and wonderfully made. God had a plan for both of them from the moment of their conception. And my hope, my earnest prayer, is that you would see the magnificent design for each life, convenient or not, and that every soul would be celebrated because they are life with a hope and a future.