Mary Was Not Just Another Girl On The I.r.t.

I recently had the chance to view a movie entitled " Just Another Girl On The I.R.T." the movie tells the story of a young 17 year old African American teenager named Chantel Mitchell who is played by (Ariyan A. Johnson) Chantel who is a high school junior who lives in Brooklyn, New York is very smart and articulate, although her sharp tongue, abundant ego, and occasional naivete undermine her efforts. Her ultimate dream is to leave her poor neighborhood, go to college, and eventually become a doctor. Throughout the movie, Chantel breaks the fourth wall and states that she wants to be seen as more than just another teenage black girl on the subway. Hence, the "I.R.T." in the film's title stands for "Interborough Rapid Transit Company", and specifically references the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway system. However, there is only one scene in the film where Chantel is actually in the subway.

She lives with her struggling working-class parents and her two younger brothers. With her mother working during the day and her father working the night shift and hence sleeping all day, Chantel is given the responsibility of taking care of her brothers in addition to going to school full-time and working a part-time job at a local grocery store.

However, she earns mostly A's and B's in school, and is fully determined to receive an education beyond her primary one. Much to the chagrin of her teachers, she wants to graduate early in order to get into college as soon as possible. Her dream is tested with her constant clashes with her school's administration, and her recent romantic involvement with her seemingly-rich boyfriend Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen). She becomes pregnant and undermines herself with false confidence and lack of real worldly knowledge.

Mary Was Not Just Another Girl On The I.R.T.

In this day of pro-life and pro- choice. Have you ever wondered, "What if Mary had exercised her right to choose and had an abortion?" When we look into the eyes of a newborn if you were like me when my children were born we often wonder, ‘What shall this child become?’

It is a mystery to us what the Lord has in store for every little child that is born. Yet, it is a mystery that some will never unravel because, for a variety of reasons, they choose to abort the life of the unborn before it develops into God's plan.

There are many reasons given for the decision to abort a child. Some see their poverty and do not wish to bring a child into that poverty. Some are frustrated with the world and feel another child would only add to complex frustrations that already exist.

Consider Mary's dilemma. She was an unwed teenager. She was poor. She was from a small town that held very few prospects for success for a newborn. What possible good can ever come from such a child?

If the birth of the Christ child says anything to us, it is that each child is born in this world with a divine purpose that is not altered by its circumstance but is nurtured by its circumstance. The talented child has a purpose. The smart child and the physically strong have purposes as well. However, the mentally challenged child has a purpose too. The poor child and the child with few gifts also have purposes.

If Mary had aborted Jesus, it was an option even in biblical times, she would have cheated the world out of a chance for redemption.

This is the dilemma that the entire issue of abortion presents. Women's rights groups in America promote a "Woman's right to choose." Pro-life groups, promote the phrase "Choose life." Somewhere between the two ideologies is the right choice. A woman does have the right to choose what shall be done to her body and her life.

The difference, however, is when that choice is executed. The choice that is available must be made at the point when a woman decides to have intimate relations. That is where the right to choose should be exercised. After a child is conceived, biblically, that right ceases because a new life, complete with its own set of choices, begins.

God has plans for every life, even while the child is undeveloped in its mother's womb. The prophet Isaiah made note that before he took his first breath God had named him and appointed him to a service. In Isaiah 49:1, 5 he says, "Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name...and now the LORD says--he who formed me in the womb to be his servant..."

The prophet Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:4-5).