A Leavenworth shelter and Christian ministry for teenage mothers dedicated a memorial garden for unborn children recently.
Lamb’s Inn opened the “Little Lambs’ Garden” to the public with the hope that the space would “help women to heal and have closure,” said the director.
The garden includes a fountain, a statue of an angel and 10 stepping stones engraved with information about instances of either abortion or miscarriage.
The director denied the garden was built to have any political message and said the dedication was not meant to be a protest. She said she is opposed to the practice of abortion, but that the garden was not an extension of any kind of moral or political belief.
“I’m very much against abortion because I know what it does to women,” she said. “I thought that maybe this would help.”
It is hoped that the garden will be a place of quiet reflection.
Lamb’s Inn helps pregnant teens regardless of their “home beliefs.” She said the shelter aims to help support them through the pregnancy and into the first year of the child’s life, providing clothes, diapers, education materials on being a new mother and support to finish school.
“They can change their lives if they just can get started in the right direction,” she said of the girls involved with Lamb’s Inn.
One such woman is Brittany, who is now a married mother of two with a steady job. She said she enjoys giving back to the ministry she says helped her to overcome a dark time in her life.
Brittany said the garden will help women who have chosen to have an abortion, or who have fallen victim to unexpected miscarriage, to “settle their feelings.”
One local woman heard about the dedication through Brittany and, though she did not dedicate a memorial stone, decided to attend because of her own grief at the loss of her grandchild due to premature birth in April.
[http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/articles/2008/06/17/news/news01.txt, Alexandra Garry, Leavenworth Times, June 17, 2008]
[PLEASE NOTE: Loss and grief go hand in hand, and need an outlet, a recognition, and a means of closure. Memorials help to provide this. Other memorials are located all around the nation. One of the first and most well-known memorials is the National Memorial for the Unborn in Chattanooga, TN — http://www.memorialfortheunborn.org/]