I am old now, soon to go the way of all men. God’s call is coming shortly. I am not long for this world. But I write with excitement and satisfaction. For tomorrow, the State of Washington’s Legislature is voting to outlaw abortion, to rid our state of its 75-year reprehensible behavior of killing children in the womb. I want my great grandchildren to know the story of our sordid past that has finally given way to tomorrow’s historic vote.
As you know from your history books, the carnage and wickedness of Roe, law for nearly 50 years in our country, was overturned in 2022. Tallying the slain was horrific. Sixty-two million babies later, it was no longer a federally protected slaughter. The matter returned to the states, many of which were quick to end the wretched practice.
But not here in Washington. The Evergreen State wished to be known as an abortion sanctuary. In fact, weeks before Roe was officially done away with, it was leaked that SCOTUS was doing so. There used to be something called “Twitter.” It was a form of mass communication used by many. Our governor at the time, Jay Inslee was his name, proudly voiced his opposition, “NOT HERE, NOT IN OUR LIFETIME.” His “Caps Lock” key was not stuck. It was his way to arrogantly emphasize he would fight for abortion in our state till his final breath.
But our God is bigger than a small politician. So, the church continued to labor in our state. We prayed. We marched. We elected politicians and officials who said they would fight. Some did, some were disappointedly weak. But we kept praying.
It was difficult. There was much darkness in our state. Years of godless policy based upon godless theology reminded us what was said of Narnia years ago, when Mr. Tumnus explained to Lucy that it was “always winter and never Christmas.” That is what it was like here. Understandably, many of our loved ones, especially those with young children, left the state’s dreariness for brighter and warmer lands.
But most of us stayed. We kept laboring. We tried to shine the light. We went on missions to slay the dragons in our land. Outnumbered, we kept fighting.
And now, here we are, on the eve of banishing abortion from our state. Who would have thought? We did.
I don’t know if the small politician who said, “NOT HERE, NOT IN OUR LIFETIME”, is still living. He slithered off into the darkness after his third term. Good riddance. But I hope he is alive to see he failed.
The lesson for you, my beloved great grandchildren, is to always pray and never give up. The way may be dark and it may be difficult. There will be days when you want to throw your hands up in the air in exasperation, crying, “What can we do against such blackness?” But it ends well for the children of the light. I promise. If not in this life, certainly in the next.
But sometimes we get to see glimpses of the dawn. And tomorrow, when the scourge of abortion is swept away from our state, the God of Heaven will once again show that “the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). And so are the politicians, they too are just dust.
Your Loving Great Grandfather,
Pastor Rich Hamlin
May 5, 2047