From the desk of Lara Ketter, AGM Staff Writer

We decked the halls today in our tiny farm house in North Central Kansas. The fake Christmas tree shines brightly in a corner of the living room with our special ornaments hanging from its branches. My children love this tradition, and I even donned my Santa Claus shirt and large red Christmas lightbulb earrings for the occasion.

As we hung the ornaments and shared lots of laughs, I thought of the children whose Christmases were stolen before they even had the chance to breathe. I thought of the parents who decided they didn’t want to be parents, and the joy they’re missing this Christmas. I thought, too, of the couples who want to be parents but can’t find a baby to adopt; Christmas must be a sad reminder as they search for a child to love.

Because here’s the truth of the matter – Christmas and children are the perfect couple. They go together like peanut butter and jelly; like Ken and Barbie; like mashed potatoes and gravy (my personal favorite); like Christmas dinner and gluttony.

I’ve been thinking about the babies who will never know the joy and fun of Christmas.

I’m picturing a four-year-old girl who will never frost a Santa-shaped sugar cookie, her face covered with frosting and sprinkles. This little girl will never wrap a present she made at school for her mom, she’ll never sit on Santa’s lap screaming at the top of her lungs, and she’ll never run down the stairs on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought her. She’ll never leap into the arms of the mom who changed her mind the day her abortion procedure was scheduled. Or she’ll never leap into the arms of the mom who adopted her after her biological mother decided to courageously carry her baby to term and offer that baby to a family who would love and raise her.

So much has been lost and, for me, it’s magnified at Christmastime.

But then I think of AudioGirl Ministries. Through prayer, action and knowledge, Team AGM works tirelessly to educate the public, pray for the cause, and raise money in a variety of creative ways to purchase sonogram machines and support moms in need who chose life for their babies. Team AGM has saved over 1,000 babies from abortion. That’s remarkable! Think of all the joyful Christmases to come for these children, their parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles … you name it!

And here’s some more good news as Christmas nears – according to the Centers for Disease Control, abortion rates in the United States have dropped to a record low. “The CDC released new numbers showing a 35% decline in US abortions between 1990 and 2010, to 17.7 abortions per 1,000 women between ages 15 and 44. This is the lowest America’s abortion rate has been since CDC abortion tracking began in 1976, three years after the Supreme Court legalized elective abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade.” The rate peaked in 1980 and has been on a steady decline ever since.

So as 2016 draws near, I see a glimmer of light breaking through the darkness. Team AGM’s efforts are working. YOUR efforts are working. That’s something worth celebrating this Christmas.