when does life begin?

Nov 2, 2011

Today at my Worldviews and YOU! class, I asked my students to do a free write on “When does life begin?” and I was thrilled at their out-of-the-box thinking.

See, we are studying biology and the various worldviews about facets of biology, mostly creation and evolution type of stuff. I wanted to broaden the discussion and so posed the above question. I wanted them to think deeply about the whole abortion debate and the myriad of issues surrounding it.

After our ten minutes of writing, we discussed the ideas each had come up with. One student shared that life begins when you love what you are doing. One student shared the concept that life begins when we start living with purpose. One student said it was not our job to decide when life begins, but it is our job to honor life and the possibility of life. Another shared that life has no beginning, we are and always have been. We had a meaningful discussion about all of these ideas and many more. I was hoping to broaden their minds and instead they broadened mine.

I loved that they didn’t try to figure out what answer I was looking for and craft their writing to match it. They inspire me with their thoughts, individuality, and creativity. They inspire me with their hunger for truth and their enthusiasm to search for it.

Spending my time mentoring youth gives me hope for the future and energy for today. I’m so thankful to have this experience.

I love my life.