In my message to you on Tuesday, I said, "When it
comes to 40 Days for Life, expect the unexpected!"
And yes, even though I said that, the e-mail message
I received from Tim Palmquist with the 40 Days for
Life team in Bakersfield, California was REALLY
unexpected.
Tim wrote, "An employee of the Bakersfield Family
Planning Association abortion center has just quit!"
The woman walked out of the building and spoke to
Rosa, who was taking part in the prayer vigil, and
told her, "I'm done with this place!" The woman also
said she had turned in her uniform. Rosa quickly
offered a hug, which the former employee accepted.
All this time, another vigil participant was
watching. It was the first time she had ever gone to
pray at an abortion center. Rosa turned to her and
said, "Do you see the power of prayer?" After seeing
this amazing turn of events, the new volunteer said
she wants to spend much more time at the vigil during
these 40 days.
This happened Wednesday -- yes, the FIRST DAY of this
40 Days for Life campaign!
WOW!
Jim in Green Bay, Wisconsin writes, "Michael and I
just walked the first shift of this year's vigil." He
and Michael really didn't know each other well at
first. "But now we do. 40 Days for Life has a way of
bringing folks together."
Jim describes the late night/early morning scene as
warm, slightly muggy, but beautifully quiet. "We
counted three horn honks with thumbs-up signals," he
noted. "We also spoke to a young couple who were
walking across the hospital parking lot. The young
woman saw our signs and shouted encouragement saying,
'We're not aborting! We're having a baby!' Michael
and I shouted back our approval and encouragement.
Michael observed how we never, ever know how our
presence impacts people. This vigil, like the prayer
that it is, reaches far beyond those whom we can see
and feel and touch -- which is just how the hand of
God operates.
And that is so true!
You can almost feel it, just by looking at the
pictures I received from the first day of the 40 Days
for Life vigil in Houston, and the kickoff event for
40 Days for Life in Dallas:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/
As a former resident of Texas (who is married to a
native Texan) I'm really not trying to single out the
Lone Star State, but the hand of God is also evident
in Lubbock, where Day 1 of 40 Days for Life dawned
with a feature article in the local newspaper:
When Eric Lopez found out he was going to be an
uncle, he was overjoyed. The thought never crossed
his mind that his sister would choose not to have
the baby as planned, and would instead choose to
have an abortion. "I think about my unborn nephew,
and how old he should be now," the Texas Tech
business student said. "We can take things for
granted." That's why nearly six years later, Lopez
is working to inform the community about his
family's experience with abortions through the
40 Days for Life campaign...
You can read the whole article from the Lubbock
Avalanche Journal at:
http://tinyurl.com/yb6kreh
I just have this feeling that this is going to be an
especially powerful 40 Days for Life campaign because
of the amazing way hearts and minds are already being
changed -- one at a time.
Here's today's devotional from Dennis DiMauro, of
Lutherans for Life...
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DAY 3 INTENTION
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We pray for God's gift of strength as we strive to
protect human life during these 40 Days for Life.
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SCRIPTURE
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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more important than food,
and the body more important than clothes? Look at the
birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store
away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
-- Matthew 6:25-26
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REFLECTION by Dennis DiMauro, Lutherans for Life
------------------------------
Billions of dollars are spent each year on diet
plans. But Jesus tells us to stop worrying so much
about our bodies, and instead to trust in God's care
for our physical needs.
What would happen if the people who had started on a
low-carb diet this year had instead gone on a diet of
heavenly food? For non-believers that diet would
include trusting in Christ for their salvation, and
for believers it would include a renewed prayer life,
a new Bible study, or even a spiritual fast. This
diet doesn't include giving up on certain kinds of
foods. What this diet includes is giving up on
anxiety by resting in the loving arms of Christ,
trusting that He will provide.
Such a spiritual diet also frees us from our worries,
and allows us to freely praise Him and serve others.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more important than food,
and the body more important than clothes? Look at the
birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store
away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
This promised provision teaches us the inestimable
worth of our lives. He will not allow us to go
without. This intimate knowledge and care for human
life on the part of our gracious God is what
motivates us to seek for the preservation of human
life in all its stages.
------------------------------
PRAYER
------------------------------
Loving heavenly Father, help us to see the worth of
all human beings by the way in which you provide for
us. We would ask that you provide also the faith,
grace and courage to enable us to protect that which
is so precious to you. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
------------------------------
To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/
------------------------------
For Life,
David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life
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