By CHANEL BINGHAM / Religion Columnist

When I first heard the news that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had signed into law the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), legalizing abortions up to 24 weeks with special allowances for elective full term abortions, anguish and grief clenched my soul.

Like most pro-life advocates, I sat in disbelief as I watched the spire of Freedom Tower light up in pink in celebration.

My emotions were in turmoil. I couldn’t gain my footing. I was saddened, hurt, angered and felt at a loss in how to put into words exactly how I was feeling.

Yet, in the midst of the chaos of my thoughts and emotions, I knew God was in control. And so I watched and waited for Him.

I sensed a stirring but was not sure of the message until I came across a Facebook post written by Traci Schmidley. I’d read several remarkable articles written on this subject decrying the horror of this law, along with many letters to editors expressing deep-seated grief over the loss of innocent life.

And I agreed with every single one. Yet, I knew the moment I read Traci Schmidley’s post, this was the message every professing pro-life individual needed to hear.

I reached out to Traci, and she graciously agreed to allow me to share her letter, along with a picture of her precious son, Trayvon. Next week, we will hear Traci’s personal story of faith, but for today, we hear a message that begs the question, “Are we truly pro-life?”

Violently shaken. Thrown against a wall at just 10 weeks old. Two years in foster care, and then returned to a mother who abused him again. Back to foster care. Two more years waiting for a family to call him their own.

I want his face to be your pro-life anthem; not pictures of healthy, chubby babies. Because if abortion were to become illegal, as so many of us pray for daily, our schools, our churches and our HOMES will need to have more room for desperately hurting and abused children who are born to women in circumstances that we can’t begin to fathom.

Continue to pray, continue to advocate, continue to cry out to God, but also be prepared to give, be prepared to care for, be prepared to adopt, not only perfect, healthy newborns, but also children who will have already made enormous sacrifices and suffered tremendous losses often at the hands of parents who weren’t prepared to parent them.

I am so grateful Trayvon’s mom chose life. One day, I genuinely hope to meet her so I can hug her and tell her that. But as a direct result of the abuse she inflicted upon him, our Tray is blind, he can’t walk, he can’t talk, he can’t hold a toy, he can only drink from a bottle.

See him, see his pain, see his loss, grieve, and lament. With a new heaviness continue to plead with God to save His children, understanding that when He answers those prayers, our hands and hearts will need to be even more prepared than they are now, to love.

Pro-abortion hearts are not the only hearts God needs to do a mighty work in. Maybe it’s our pro-life hearts that He’s still waiting on.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8