Miracle Turn Around

A couple weeks ago, I was in the Bronx office counseling a young woman. She was a college student, back home for the Christmas break. And she had discovered that she was pregnant. She came to us with abortion in her mind.

So we counseled her. We told her everything we could tell her about the dangers to her, the pain and suffering it would cause her baby, and the lasting scars it would leave on her heart and body. But after an hour, she still wanted an abortion. We were at a loss. This young woman had had an abortion before, had suffered at the memories of her lost child. She new what a horror it was. She knew they horrible effects that she would later face. But she still wanted an abortion.

There was only one thing left that we had to say to her. She had spoken of wanting to grow up, get her life in order, become more responsible. So we told her: "If you truly want to become more responsible, if you want your life in order, have this baby. If you don't, you will feel even more empty and you will suffer far more than before. We won't force you to do anything. We will, however, be here to help you if you decide to keep your baby."

She told us that she would think about it and talk to us again in a few weeks. I was not sure that we would ever meet again. I was not sure that she would allow her baby to live. So I lifted her up to God and kept her in my prayers.

A few days ago, 2 or so weeks after counseling this woman, I was helping close up the Brooklyn office when she called asking for a free sonogram and help with the carious expenses of raising a baby. She had decided to let her baby live!!! I can say with all sincerity that it was one of the most joyful moments of my life.

Moments like these make the cold hours in front of Dr. Emily's more than worth while. Moments like these pull us through the emotional and mental exhaustion that naturally accompany this job. These moments are the reasons, each and every one it's own complete reason, that I would not have exchanged this month at EMC for anything else in the world.

Out in Force

Friday, January 22nd, 2010 dawned rainy and chilly in Washington D.C. Fitting weather, considering that this particular day was the anniversary of the 1973 legislation Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion, albeit in a round-about way.

It was also fitting as this day was the March for Life. Though we do not have an exact estimate of the attendance, about 500,000 citizens from all around the United States marched from the National Mall to the Supreme Court building, past the Congressional offices.

And they showed up for one goal: to show Washington that the people of the United States value life and want human life protected from conception to natural birth.

The March was easily one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life. One moment in particular is etched in my memory. After several hours of speeches and introductions with amazing pro-lifers, we left the March to get lunch at a nearby restaurant.

As we walked away, I stopped and turned back for a moment to watch my fellow marchers. It was at that moment that I truly understood the sheer enormity of the March. As far as the eye could see, from the Supreme Court back to the National Mall, pro-lifers walked 30 to 50 wide, growing continually larger as more poured into the group from all sides.

I literally gasped aloud.

The tides of this battle for life, for the rights of the unborn, are turning. According to a Gallup poll conducted in May of 2009, 51% of Americans identify themselves as pro-life. Some may see it as a marginal lead. But after seeing the hundreds of thousands who stormed our nations capitol on behalf of the unborn, I cannot say that we have a marginal lead.

We have a lead. A distinctive lead. There are more people in the United States who believe that human life begins at conception and should be protected.

And Washington cannot deny it. Praise God!

Answered Prayers

Saturday morning at Emily's rolled around a great deal warmer than it has been since I arrived 2 weeks ago. It also rolled around with 2 policemen, a security guard, and an escort out in front of the building.

Everything is possible with God and because He is our helper, we have nothing to fear in this life. Though this is true and gives a great peace to my work, I was still a bit nervous on that street corner. At one point I half-jokingly prayed: "Lord, I know that you send an army of angels to protect us every day on this sidewalk....but could you, you know, only if you want to... maybe send an army I can see to calm these quivering, human nerves?"

I was not entirely expecting anyone to come. Not that God can't do something like that. We all know that He can do anything. But I thought that God was building up my trust and courage by allowing me to lean on him alone. I thought that I would simply have to push through those last couple of hours. However, a little while later, I happened to glance northward up the sidewalk and spotted a priest, several brothers, and a gaggle of college-aged prayer warriors walking my way. My jaw dropped. They come out on Saturdays to peacefully protest against abortion and try to turn girls around before they enter the abortion mill.

I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude both to God and the army I could now see. There are scores of people standing in the ranks beside us in this battle for life that we never see. And we don't need to see them to know that we have support. But that day, seeing others made all the difference in the world. Thank God for answered prayers.

In Need of Prayer

This morning I was sidewalk counseling out in front of Dr. Emily’s abortion clinic. I stopped a Hispanic woman in front of the clinic and was trying to explain to her how terrible it would be for her if she went inside. At that moment, one of the clinic workers returned from some small store across the street.
In passing, the worker said: “You need to back up. You’re not allowed to stand there. If you don’t move away, I’m going to call the cops because you’re blocking the door to the clinic…are you listening to me?”

My initial response was to point out her apparent lack of geometrical reasoning (as I was over a foot away from the property line and therefore easily seven feet away from their door). I then felt that perhaps I should ask her to provide me with a way to teleport if she was in favor of me moving at the very instant that she spoke.

But God stopped me. It was in that moment (well, in the moments of quiet following that encounter) that He gently spoke.
It is the workers in the abortion clinics who need to see love as much as the women who enter the building. The office workers, the “counselors”, the nurses, and the doctors are in desperate need of prayer. They face an eternity separated from God because of the veil of deception covering their eyes. And though I remember them in my prayers most of the time, they need to be on an equal tier of importance as the mothers seeking abortions.

First Day on the Job

Tuesday, I began working for the first time since arriving in New York. That day I stood outside Doctor Emily’s in the morning and spent the afternoon at Liz’s. And God blessed me with a wonderful, miraculous first day. One of the most memorable moments was at the end of a counseling session that I had the privilege of sitting in on.

A young lady came in to Liz’s on her 20th birthday for a pregnancy test. The young woman was abortion minded and completely misinformed about what abortion is. We showed her an educational video about abortion procedures and a more graphic video showing an actual abortion in process. By the end of the videos the young lady was upset about the prospect of losing her child but still debating between allowing the baby to live and die. She was scared that she wasn’t ready for motherhood, but she didn’t want to kill her baby. Liz allowed me to help her counsel this woman for awhile. Finally, after this lady had been in Bronx Center for a couple hours, Liz posed the final question:

“So honey, what’re you going to do?”

The girl took a deep breath and said:

“I’m keeping it.”

Praise and glory to God for these moments that send us home flying in the clouds. He is good and without Him, our work would not be nearly as successful.