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“Life is always the most beautiful choice"

Jan White
Fourth Prize - $3,000

Jan’s articles have appeared in Charisma Magazine, Focus on the Family, CBA Marketplace, Christian Retailing and the Pentecostal Evangel, as well as devotionals in Devo’Zine and God’s Word for Today.  She has worked for three newspapers and written a weekly religion column for her local paper for over eleven years.  For four years, Jan has written the “Marketlines” column for Cross & Quill, a Christian writers’ newsletter. She has also worked as a ghostwriter on the publication staff of a major television ministry and has co-authored two books.  Jan and her husband, Greg, owned a Christian bookstore for 17 years.  She is a previous first-prize Amy Writing Award winner.

Though the missionary couple had four children, they began asking God for another child.  They even prayed for “Timmy” by name.

Bob and Pam and their family had moved to the Philippines in 1985 to take the Gospel to those who have never heard and plant Bible-believing churches where there were no churches.  Just before she became pregnant, Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, transmitted through contaminated drinking water, and fell into a coma.

According to a news article about the family, Pam’s treatment required a series of strong medications.  Even though she discontinued the medications when she found out she was pregnant, doctors strongly advised her to have an abortion.  They thought the fetus had been irreversibly damaged as a result of the medications and expected the baby to be stillborn.

Pam would not consider aborting because of her faith in God.  In the seventh month of her pregnancy, she traveled to the country’s capital, Manila, to receive around-the-clock care.  She had to spend the last two months of her pregnancy on bed rest.  Pam continued to pray for a healthy child.

On her due date – August 24, 1987 – she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, whom she described as “skinny, but rather long.”

Three years later, Bob and Pam and their family moved back to the U.S.  But they continued to return to the Philippines every year as volunteers to work in an orphanage and other ministry outreaches there.

Their youngest son, his mother calls “Timmy,” is now 20-years-old, stands 6’3” tall and weighs 235 pounds.  He excelled in football and became a highly recruited quarterback.  His high school stats include 95 passing touchdowns and 62 rushing touchdowns.

He chose to attend the University of Florida, not so much because his parents were graduates of the school, but because he felt best suited for their “spread option” offense.  As a true freshman, he helped the Gator’s win the national championship in college football.  Coach Urban Meyer has described him as the “sparkplug” of the Gator offense.

On December 8, 2007, Tim Tebow won the Heisman trophy, the first college sophomore to win in the 70-plus years of the award.  He’s been called an All-American and athletic hero.

Bob Tebow has said his son is “a miracle baby” and they’ve reminded him of that hundreds of times.  The Tebow’s had no way of knowing God’s plan for their unborn son, but they did realize that every life is precious.

The Bible says that God knows us before we are born (Jeremiah 1:5).  “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed,” Psalm 139:13, 14 & 16).

Life is always the most beautiful choice.

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