Life: Value in Love

Uh-oh. This post may get pretty serious. I like to be funny and a lot of times the way I see life is through the lens I present on this blog. But I am also passionate and opinionated. The opinions I express are my own and I will not apologize for them. If you are concerned by something I am saying, you can leave a civil comment or you can email me at eheartsg(at)gmail.com.

Ben & I are in the process of joining the Catholic Church. I know there are friends of mine who read this blog that don't necessarily agree with what I believe, but are immensely respectful; and for that I am grateful. If you instantly shudder at the thought of the Catholic Church, I would encourage you to keep reading my blog as we continue on this journey (we're learning too) and to read some of the blogs under my "reading list", because many are written by Catholic moms and all of them are awesome.

In becoming Catholic we are required to take a class. It's called RCIA and you can read more about it here (this is a wikipedia page, but I thought it explained it well and was respectful. If any Catholics out there have a better website explaining RCIA, I'd be happy to add the link). Basically, it's a class that is all about the Catholic Church and her teachings. It has no timetable and no obligation once it's over. As in, if I wanted to go to the class and learn more, I am more than welcome, and if I don't want to become Catholic that is completely fine and I am not made to feel any less by anyone. It's a long class, ours is September-May. And we learn a lot and we get a lot of handouts and it's pretty cool. We are encouraged to ask questions and we truly discover more than I could ever type out. We are super blessed in that our instructor is amazing and the parish priest also attends.

Moving on. We' recently had a class dealing with a few moral teachings of the Church. Mainly dealing with life. Something I particularly love about the Church is her complete love and value of all people. The Church is against abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. Does this mean all Catholics follow these teachings? No. Does this mean other Christian denominations can't also hold these teachings? No. What I'm getting at is this: in the Church's wisdom, she tells us all human life has value. All life is deserving of respect, regardless of a person's abilities, choices or circumstances. I love that the value of life is consistent. It's not, "all life is valuable, unless you kill someone, than your life is worth less." Or, "your life is valuable as long as you are convenient or wanted by someone." No, it's all life. I have value just because I am. You have value just because you are. It doesn't matter how old you are, how useful, or even the crimes you've committed. You deserve to live. And in believing that, we give respect to those lives. Just amazing.

I recently read a beautiful story about a family and the death of their 15 week old son in utero. The faith and grace of this husband and wife and those that surround them during this time of grieving is just astounding. It really paints a picture of what a value every life is. I would encourage you to read their story and really open your heart to empathy.


In my life I have felt worthless. And even after believing in God, I fought to feel that I had intrinsic value. Value that wasn't linked to what I did or did not do. In hearing the loving teachings of the Church on life, I am once again reminded that, yes, I have value and yes, it's because God believes I do. It does more for my heart than I could put into words.



(There are many more teachings that I want to share. If you have specific questions about why I am choosing to join the Catholic Church you can (again) email me: eheartsg@gmail.com. I will gladly answer to the best of my ability and point you in the direction of things that were helpful for me.)

Disclaimer: I am not a theologian. I am just communicating to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading.