Palins announce daughter is pregnant - now, not then

Well, I guess this proves that Daily Kos was lying.

Breaking news:

Gov. Palin Says Her Unmarried 17-Year-Old Daughter Is Pregnant

September 01, 2008 12:28 PM

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," reads the statement from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," they continued, referring to their 17-year-old daughter. "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."

The Palins said that "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who announced Palin as his running mate just three days ago, said the Palins would have no further comment.

"We ask that the media respect their daughter in the same tradition that has been afforded children of past candidates," McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said.

Read entire article here.

I suppose that this means another bloc of judgmental, self-righteous fundamentalist fanatics will say it's proof that Palin isn't meant to be where she is.

I say look to the Bible for example after example of God-appointed leaders who had real lives - full of flaws - and children who brought judgment to their parents.

I've lived long enough and met enough Christian parents who did everything right only to see their children make poor choices that I would never ever use that in judgment over another parent. It's easy when your children are young to think that if you put in all the right ingredients, they will turn out perfectly. Those of us who've done that and then watched our children grow into adults - most of us - know that that's just not the case.

God gave us free will. And thinking that you can control the outcome of your children's lives - preventing them from ever making mistakes - is a form of spiritual pride. Even the perfect parent - God Our Father - saw his children who enjoyed perfect daily intimate relationship with Him disobey His commands.

I wrote yesterday that God sends trials to leaders to test them - and to test us as well. I see a lot of Christians poised to fail this test. I am praying for them even as I pray for the Palins.

All I can say as someone who has seen my own plans crumble is that I thank God every day for each and every way they did. Otherwise I might still be the same unmerciful judgmental person I was when I did everything perfectly.

God bless Sarah Palin and her family. It's not the fact that her daughter got pregnant so much as the fact of how they are handling it that shows their true values.

I've heard from the pulpit that the abortion rate among evangelicals is as high as among the general population. That's because evangelicals would rather face God's judgment than the judgment of their peers. Hallelujah that the Palins - mother and daughter both - chose life when it would have been more convenient and less embarrassing to choose death.

Consider being merciful in your judgment. Ask God to guide your thoughts.

We are sinners saved by grace. That means each one of us is closer to falling than many care to think. And pride goes before a fall - God will not allow believers to stay in our self-righteousness and judgment of others. He loves us too much.

Bottom line: now more than ever, McCain/Palin.