It’s hard to know where to begin in recounting our time at the abortion
mills today. A part of me feels like shouting “hallelujah!” and another part
feels like weeping. However, one thing that I do know is that no matter what I
feel or what happened “if Thou [God] be glorified” (as the poem in my last post
said) we will rejoice.
Today one of my sisters joined my Father and me out at the clinic for
her first time. The three of us began our morning with “the Gatekeeper” and
another pro-lifer at one clinic. Although we were a bit later than we had
planned to be, when we arrived there were only a couple staff there and no
customers. Then, through some various events, we learned that they were not
doing abortions there today! Praise Jesus! I was so happy that I felt like
crying and singing at the same time! We know that the battle at this clinic is
not over yet. They will be doing abortions there later this week. But please
join us in continuing to pray that days like today would become the norm!
There were two encouraging encounters this morning before we left that
clinic. As we were gathering up our things, a truck driver pulling out of the
road across from the clinic stopped mid-turn and called out his window “God
bless you!” before continuing on. It may have been a “little” thing, but it
meant a lot. It was a good reminder to me that it is sometimes the “little”
things that mean the most. And then, just as we were getting in our car,
another pro-lifer pulled up and introduced us to “E”, a mother who chose life
at that clinic about two years ago and her adorable baby boy, “K”. The Lord
knew that we would need that encouragement and sent it at the right time!
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| My sister and I outside an abortion mill with our new sign. (Although it may look like part of the first T is missing, that is only the reflection of the camera flash.) |
Since there were no abortions being done at the one clinic, we left
early and headed over to another clinic to join the brothers and sisters
witnessing there. We were thankful to hear about a couple women who had already
chosen life before we got there! We arrived only a short time before the
abortionist, but we still had several interactions with the customers.
At one point, two very well-dressed men
drove in and went inside the clinic. We were hopeful that they were inspectors
and that the clinic would be closed down. Alas, they were with the DHS. You
see, we as peaceful, loving, truth-bearing Christians are viewed as a threat to
our society. We are dangerous. We are equated with terrorists. Our response? We
thank God for every day that we are not being persecuted so that we can
continue to share His message of hope. And if we are ever persecuted, we will “rejoice that [we
are] considered worthy to suffer shame for His name”!
I want to share one more thing from our day, one of the hardest for me
since I began going out to the clinics. One mother that came to the clinic, “A”,
was eleven weeks pregnant. She was already on the mobile ultrasound unit when
we arrived. She saw her dear little unborn child on there and talked with some
ladies. When she came out, she spent a while at her vehicle which was parked in
the street behind the ultrasound RV, obviously still undecided. Then she began
walking toward the clinic. One of the older men appealed to her. She stopped
and listened to him for a few minutes until she finally walked back out onto
the street. Over the next hour, he continued to speak to her with such gentle
and loving authority as he shared God’s truth and many other things with her.
After about an hour of praying like I’m not sure I’ve ever prayed
before, my Father, sister, and I stepped into the conversation and the other
brother had to leave. We continued to share with her for another hour. During
that time she kept saying, “I just don’t want another baby right now” (she
already has two children) and “I just want to make my own decisions”. We shared
with her that she didn’t get to choose whether she had another baby right now.
That choice was already made. She already has a baby. The only choice she had
now was what she was going to do with that baby. We continued to encourage her
to just get in her car and drive away and that she needed more time to think
about this.
Throughout the conversation her eyes continued to wander toward the
clinic. I also noticed that her feet seemed to mirror her thoughts and words.
Sometimes they would both be pointed toward the clinic, sometimes both away. Other
times one was pointed each way, or she would step closer or further from the
driveway. Even though she clearly told us that she knew she wanted to have the
abortion, she certainly must have had some kind of indecision because of the
way she acted.
In the end, she did go inside the clinic. Her appointment was scheduled
for eleven in the morning and it was now two in the afternoon. She wasn’t sure
if they would let her keep her appointment, but she said she wanted to go see
because she “just want[ed] to get this over with”. Feeling helpless as there
was nothing more that we as humans could do, we offered the rest to God and made
our way to our car. Just as we were about to leave, however, she came back out
to her car and drove away! That was most likely due to them not being able to
take her at that point, but whatever the case it will give her time to think
about everything that she heard. Please pray for “A” that she would not return.
We may never know the outcome of this situation or many others on this side of
eternity. But “if Thou be glorified”, it will have been worth everything!
