Friday, January 31, 2014
Fri, 31 Jan 2014
Dave Thompson
Brand new to the Liberty University law school scene, new student group Law Students for Life hosted its first speaker, Pro-Life advocate Gail McWilliams.
On Monday afternoon, McWilliams, who is blind, shared what she called her “life message” with law school students, faculty and staff after she spoke at Liberty University Convocation.
Making jokes about her eyesight throughout her presentation, McWilliams turned serious when she told of how, when pregnant with her first child, she suffered problems with her vision, and by the second child was told she needed to choose between her child and her vision.
“I said ‘The choice is made. I choose my baby,'” McWilliams said, recalling how the doctor replied, “What a foolish decision.”
Often infusing her message with humor, McWilliams talked about some of the effects of her blindness, but always related them back to useful observations about handling different unexpected situations.
McWilliams, author of the book “Seeing Beyond,” spoke of vision that’s not limited to what people can see with their physical eyes.
“When you live life based only on what you see, it will always be limited, and probably disappointing and discouraging,” she said.
“Living life with vision helps you see beyond the obstacles. I often tell people that in my darkest hour, that’s when vision was built.”
Multiple times, McWilliams referenced Moses’ message from God to Israel as recorded in Deuteronomy 30, in which he references a choice between life and death, a blessing and a curse, and finally exhorts Israel “choose life, that you and your offspring may live long …”
“Every life has value,” she said, calling that passage her anchor and compass.
As advice, especially to those hoping to make a difference by getting involved in the legal profession, she encouraged her listeners to “be anchored by the word of God. It’s always pertinent.”
“I pray that God will give you eyes to be visionaries, to see beyond those dark places, to see beyond what you think is an impossibility,” she said.
She urged those fighting for the cause of life not to lose their compassion for those who are deceived and disagree, but also not to get so lost in a cause that they devalue their own lives.
“You were born on purpose, with purpose, for a purpose,” she said.