Marcus Bachmann and his clinic was recently the focus of an expose by Brian Ross of ABC news. Ross played a video of an undercover interview with Bachmann clinic staff recorded by a gay man who posed as a person requesting help in changing his sexual preference. 

Interviews with gay advocates claimed that attempts to change sexual orientation were “ineffective” at best and potentially “harmful.”  The tactics that were specifically derided were the use of the Bible and prayer as tools to accomplish this change in sexual orientation. This entire exercise appears to be an attempt to embarrass and question the credibility of Michelle Bachmann who is a U.S. presidential candidate.

Perhaps the unintended result is to question the power of God and His ability to change humans. Those who believe in the creative ability of God know that there are no limits on God’s ability to transform human life. 

While preparing to write this post I received a telephone call from a long time friend. I hear from him now and then, usually when he is not quite sober and yet longing for the sobriety of his past.

Our friendship goes back to when he was a budding student with intellectual and musical ability that could have been harnessed into something great. He married a fine girl in our community and I had the privilege of being her obstetrician for her first two pregnancies.

Resilience, in the field of health as it relates to youth, is the ability to face adversity and survive in spite of that adversity. Even more, it is the capacity to excel when things aren’t going well. Sounds confusing? Let’s clarify.

Some kids grow up under such terrible circumstances that you might think they'd have no chance at a normal life, yet they ultimately do very well as they grow up. Many children of alcoholics go on to live free of alcohol addiction. Many kids subjected to terrible childhood abuse do not become abusers in adulthood. Many youngsters who grow up in gang-infested inner cities go on to live productive lives free of drugs and violence.