Do Babies in the Womb Have Senses?

I was watching "Good Morning America" earlier and Diane Sawyer was discussing the sense of smell with a doctor. She stated that babies in the womb are neurologically developed enough to detect chemicals, like the smell of garlic. So even in the womb, a baby can detect odors. I was just wondering, "Does a baby also have the sense of touch?" In other words, "Can they feel?" If so, can they feel pain? Then I have one question, "Can a baby in the womb feel pain while it's being aborted?" What do you think?

The Transient Nature of Material Things

A friend told me about a retired couple she knew, who were wealthy. The husband developed a rare & serious illness. The medical treatment required was not covered by their insurance. So they used up all of their savings and property to pay for the treatment. He was cured, but now they lived in a low-income apartment. It made me realize the transitory nature of things, and how quickly we lose them. Maybe, instead of spending all our time and effort at accumulating possessions, we should focus on things which are infinitely more valuable, such as our families and relationships. That's because these will remain, even if our material possessions do not.

Marriages Don't Always Have to End in Divorce

The news this morning mentioned an ad by divorce lawyers that said, "Life's too short. Get divorced." I guess this reflects today's mentality: if there's a problem, get a divorce rather than work things out. This reminds me of a story a friend told me. He knew this couple where the husband was cheating on his wife. Then the guy developed cancer. Amazingly, his wife took care of him & stayed with him. This made him finally realize how much his wife really loved him. He ended his adulterous affair and reconciled with his wife. This shows that there is hope even for difficult marriages. Since, not everyone has marital problems this grave, wouldn't it be great if couples tried to reconcile rather than give up on the relationship? It won't be easy. But nothing worthwhile, such as a marriage, is ever going to be easy.

Are You Familiar with Other Faiths?

Not long ago, a Muslim co-worker told me about a meeting he had with a non-Muslim colleague. This colleague suffered a heart attack during that meeting and died. My Muslim co-worker was shaken by that incident. He told me that he asked the people at his mosque to pray for his colleague and the bereaved family. I was amazed. I didn't know Muslims did that, especially towards non-Muslims. I realized then that I really don't know much about their faith. Wouldn't it be great if everyone took the time to know what Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews really believed, rather than rely on just hearsay, or the biased news media. Then maybe there would be less hostility in this world.

Mercy Rather than Condemnation

We tend to condemn people we don't even know. I was tempted to do that at work while reading the news about a mother who drowned her own children. I'm glad I didn't say anything to my co-worker. It turns out that the mother was my co-worker's niece. He was agonizing over the fact that his niece's mind seem to have "snapped" suddenly. He reminisced about the times he held her in his arms when his niece was just a baby. My anger disappeared. I felt sorry for him and for her. I was wondering how he must have felt to hear others condemn his niece. Maybe we should all be more merciful towards others, since we don't want others to condemn us or our loved ones.