prayer warrior

Dear SACFL,
       This last Thursday was my first time praying outside of Planned Parenthood. I have always considered myself "Pro-Life" but lately God had been calling me to act on convictions. So that's when I decided that being a prayer warrior was where I needed to start. That day I was full of hope and excitement, ready to do God's work. I was informed when I got there that on Thursdays they perform pre-abortion ultrasounds, an opportune chance to change someone's mind! I felt "charged" with energy thinking that I would get the chance to save a baby's life and put my beliefs into action! It felt great to be doing what God had called me to do. I figured it was a good warm-up before I came out to pray on Saturday morning. Abortion has always been a sensitive subject for me, I can hardly talk about it without tearing up. After Thursday however, I felt ready for whatever Saturday had in store.

        On Saturday Morning I woke up early and got my kids ready for the day. But as I brushed my teeth and washed my face I couldn't help but realize that somewhere at just this same moment, a woman was preparing herself to go to Planned Parenthood not to pray, but to have an abortion. It made me feel a little uneasy. "Can I really do this?", I asked myself. I suddenly felt unsure. I pushed through my doubts, loaded my son into the car and left my house. The forecast said it would be warm and sunny that day, but when we arrived at Planned Parenthood it was far from. It was dark and chilly, and I couldn't help but find it somehow fitting. It was a solemn day. I joined in a prayer vigil with others that were there and half way through a car pulled into the parking lot. A woman got out of the car and began to walk in, her head down the entire time. I was fixated on the sad look on her face and the helpless child she was carrying in her womb. Reality slapped me hard just then.

Soon that baby would die.

I couldn't hold it in, the tears started falling uncontrollably. I was praying as hard as I could, but couldn't seem to get a hold of my emotions. I felt helpless. I continued to pray knowing that's all that I could really do. I stayed the for two hours, watched several women come and go. I felt my heart break in my chest as I thought about what happened behind the clinic doors. I drove home in silence. It was the first time I have ever been so close to the horror of abortion, and it affected me so deeply. The rest of the day I tried to stay positive and hopeful. I was convinced that if I smiled long enough, that the pain of the morning would subside.
       After I laid my children down to sleep, I retreated to my room to get ready for bed. I could not contain it any longer, I put my head down and cried. My husband came in and asked what was wrong. I tried the "I'm fine" approach, but obviously I was not. I told him that I felt defeated because I was there to fight for those poor babies and I was unsuccessful. I prayed as hard as I could and those babies died anyway. My husband comforted me and told me that just because I didn't SEE anyone change their mind, doesn't mean our efforts were futile. He reminded me that we could have saved a life, or two, and never even know it. In my bedtime prayers I asked God for the strength to keep doing this, to continue in this journey. I realized that defeat is the wrong way to look at it. We can't always bear witness to the fruits of our labor. But most of all, we can never lose HOPE!! Hope will save the lives of unborn children.
        With that being said, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be a prayer warrior. I want to keep coming back to the sidewalk on Saturdays. I feel more prepared for next week and the emotion it may bring. I imagine when I get home I will cry some more, but truthfully I don't mind. Someone needs to mourn for those babies and I am glad to do it. The next Saturday I am there though, I will remind myself that God is there with us and with Him, we are strong.
        Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story, I felt compelled to share my experience with you and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to live it. Thank you for being so kind and helpful. I very much look forward to volunteering with SACFL from here on out.

[Names may be changed for privacy.]

Kathy shares,
"Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

Once bible study was over, I got in my car planning to head straight to Planned Parenthood. You see, I had been going every day for this 40 Days for Life spring campaign, but for whatever reason, I missed yesterday. Just at the time that I normally would have been there, a mother chose life for her baby! I was thrilled for the sidewalk counselor who spoke to the mother, for the campaign, and for the very good news that a save brings. But a little part of me was just a bit disappointed. I so wanted to have been there.

When I got to the sidewalk, several businessmen were kneeling in their suits on the sidewalk at Planned Parenthood, praying the rosary in strong, confident voices. I joined in nearby but watched the parking lot for people on their way in. A woman drove up and parked but remained in her car until the men were finished praying. When she got out of her car, I introduced myself and offered her a pamphlet on services that are provided by the clinic down the street. She decided to come over and accept it, but I could see that she was very upset and crying. She stopped just a few feet away from me and shook her head, "no." I held the pamphlet out and said, "Please, just take it." She came closer and took the pamphlet. I asked her if she was pregnant. She said, "yes" and I asked her if she would be willing to speak with someone about her options.

I assured her that there was support for her and that it would continue for as long as necessary. She agreed to walk a few doors down with me, so I called to make sure someone was available at the [pregnancy center]. She got back in her car and drove to [the center], and I walked her in and introduced her to Marisol. She told me her name is Christina. Christine also happens to be my middle name.

Marisol recounts:
“Maria was brought into our office by Kathy, I could see that she had been crying. I asked her if she needed a pregnancy test she said no because she already knew she was pregnant. I took her to one of the rooms and spent about an hour talking to her. A week prior she had been taken by her boyfriend to have an abortion BUT she refused to get out of the car. On Friday morning a friend of her told her that she needed to start her life from scratch and so she really needed to have an abortion. She took Maria to the abortion clinic that was by Evers but was closed, they went to another [Planned Parenthood] and were told to go to the Babcock location and so she did (this time she was alone). She told me she really didn’t want to get out of the car because she had seen people praying there before and so when she did she couldn’t ignore them. She's a single mom of two other children and has been able to support them on her own, something that I used as an example to let her see how strong she was and how God has been with her all along. I asked her, if she had the support of her boyfriend would she still consider abortion, her answer was NO... she said she has always been against abortion and not until recently did she know that it was legal!”

Knowing of the support available, Maria decided to choose life for her baby!

Kathy said, “My heart is overflowing with joy and I am so grateful that God blessed me in this way. God is so good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!! Thanks be to God!”

Many prolifers are upset at the results of the presidential election as we have another four years of the most pro-abortion, pro-Planned Parenthood administration of all time.

But we have to remember one thing.

God is our ultimate president. With an eternal term.

In a certain sense we are in a constant election. We elect the spiritual president of our lives every moment of every day.  He has quite a convincing opposition running for the same seat in our lives. The winner is up to us. We have to make the continual choice to choose God as the ruler of our lives. But it doesn't stop there.

In a favorite scripture of mine, Paul says in Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith..."

So 1) witnesses, 2) cast away sin and 3) run!

In life yes, but in the prolife movement as well we have witnesses that are watching our every move, our every word, our every example. There are those that are pro-abortion, those that are unsure about the issue and those we have yet to reach out to. We are called to pray and trust but we are also called to share the Gospel of life. It is up to us to reach out to our communities within our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods and churches. That is why we must witness to our brethren by standing in prayer on the sidewalk of these abortion facilities. This is where we are seeing the greatest results. Our efforts on the sidewalks are saving lives, changing hearts, shutting down abortion facilities, abortionists are converting, hearts of staff are softening and a there is a changing in the outlook on abortion by the general public. And oh how there are witnesses!

We also have to take an introspective look at our own lives with the eyes of Christ. We are called to do what it takes in our own lives to strive for holiness. (1Peter1:15, Mt 5:29) Our mission is to set the example in all that we say and do. If we have our own “sin which clings” that acts as a “weight” then our progress in the prolife movement and this spiritual battle is hindered. We must come with overwhelming humility, patience and trust to our great General in order that we may move swiftly at His command.

Lastly, Paul reminds us that we are not in a quick sprint but a long marathon. This is vitally important. He says we are to “run with perseverance” because we are in this fight for the long haul. We know that each step along the way is important but we have to continually be “looking to Jesus” for guidance and direction keeping our eyes on Him. In this grassroots movement we must stay focused realizing it is a long journey not to “grow weary or fainthearted” (12:3) because that is when the other nominee wins. Along the way of this race God has given us refreshing water at unexpected water stations. From the sonogram laws to parental consent to Planned Parenthood defunding to a prolife majority in the Texas house and senate, He has given us little tastes of victory for our hard work.

So should we not vote? Should we not care because “God is going to make everything okay”? Absolutely not! It is our Christian duty to be active in the political issues and to vote especially when there are moral concerns. At the same time we have to step foot on the frontlines. We have to get out on the sidewalks in prayer and counseling like never before. Like never before we have to get out of our comfort zones and be present in our communities because that is where the abortions are happening and that is who the abortions are happening to.

Now is the time to stand up America. It is time to stand for life.

CHALLENGE: are you going to sit and watch or are you going to get up and run the marathon? Don't wait before it is too late.

There is always a spot for you.

It strikes me how often the "heart" is mentioned in scripture. One of my favorite instances of this is when Paul prays for the Ephesians about their "inner man."

He says, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you... know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (14-21)

Isn't that so rich and powerful?! No? Read it again!

Paul is praying that the faithful in Ephesus reach into their "inner man." What is their inner man? What is in our in-most being? The most protected part of our body and soul, the engine of all that we do - the heart. Paul is praying that the love of Christ, the most perfect kind of love, be infused into our heart. He doesn't just leave it at that. He prays that we be "filled with all the fulness of God." So as our eyes are floating around with all this love and power, he wishes that we pour the same into all that we do and with all those that we encounter in our lives.

When I played basketball in high school the coach would always say "leave it all out on the court." I don't know about you but I don't think we ever fully understood what that meant. Was he referring to Paul's prayer? Kinda doubtful. But isn't the same true for our lives? Isn't the same true for our prayer time and counseling on the sidewalk in front of the abortion clinics? What is it that those going in and out of the clinic see in us? Yes, both the clients and the workers. Not what they think but what they see. Is Christ's love pouring out of us? You can practice by looking at the door of the clinic on Babcock. (When they built the place I asked them to make sure the door was reflective. *wink wink*) Seriously though, I urge you next time you are on the sidewalk, to reflect on Paul's prayer. Make it yours. I urge you to leave it all out on the sidewalk.

We will be there from 7am to 4pm this Saturday. Never been? Need a partner? Call me.

An image of what some call the "sacred heart of Jesus" drawn on the sidewalk today.The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.

Have you had an instance or witnessed one when Christ seemed to be fully present on the sidewalk? Feel free to share in the comments below.