Before my morning kayak, I got a text from a friend, Alice. She had been speaking with a young man whose girlfriend was planning to abort the following day. The young man was a friend of her son's, and was willing to talk with her, at least a little. However, the young mama would not speak to her, and her mind was made up. She would abort. My incredible friend offered the frightened couple her home, money, even adoption of their baby if only they would not abort. They refused.
Alice encouraged her son Mike and his wife to confront their young, terrified friends. They agreed. Alice asked me to pray, which I was eager to do. I also gave a whole bunch of advice, based on my experience as a sidewalk counselor at our local abortion center. She asked if her son could call me so I could advise him myself.
Of course!
When Mike called, he and his wife put me on speaker phone. They were in the car, en route to meet with the young abortion-minded couple. I talked for an hour, laying out step-by-step what I do in counseling an abortion-minded mama. I gave them an assortment of facts they could use in their discussion. I even sent pictures to their phone of our abortion statistics pamphlet, as well as several websites they should look at before their time with the couple. They took careful notes.
"Remember," I told them, "You are only responsible for being there, for bringing God's message. You are not responsible for the results. That is up to God."
Afterwards, I kayaked on my favorite river, and wondered how this young husband and wife would deal with their first time confronting someone determined to abort. I remembered my first time...I was petrified. As I skimmed along in my kayak, feeling the peace that always envelops me when I am on the river, I prayed.
Later that day, I received the following text:
Hey everyone. Short update. Our talk went very well. We really got to them, and it got to the point where we pretty much answered everything. It's up to God now.
I could not believe the wisdom coming out of my mouth! God definitely helped us with what we said. Nobody got mad, and we were able to keep the intensity very low and sensitive, and they definitely felt that we were talking to them out of love.
Thank you Vicky for your amazing advice. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you.
You will not believe what we just realized!
I had taken notes when we were on the phone with Vicky, and right when we started on the subject, I tried to pull them up to refresh myself...but the phone instantly died and wouldn't turn on.
I started to panic, but then I felt like God wanted me to listen to Him, and speak from the heart. And it went really well! My wife just pulled out the phone...and all of a sudden now- it's working and has a decent charge. We didn't plug it in since it died....
God? I think so.
I got chills reading this text. They didn't need their notes, or their phone. They didn't need me. They could have done it without me. They could NOT have done it without God, and they didn't need to.
See, when we are brave in God, and obedient to His call, He empowers us.
There is nothing more exciting than feeling the Holy Spirit take over and bring us to places we know we could not possibly arrive on our own. These obedient messengers of truth to the hurting, abortion-minded couple have no training in counseling abortion-minded mothers. All they have is a conviction of right and wrong, a desire to heed God's call, and the obedience to be in a place that is terrifying and outside their knowledge and ability.
We don't know what the young abortion-minded couple will choose to do. We don't yet know if their baby will be saved. What I do know for sure is that another young couple has just been irrevocably changed, finding a strength and a purpose to their lives that perhaps they had never known they had.
Be brave in God. When you come to the end of yourself, He is ready and waiting. It will amaze you what He can do with a fearful but willing heart.
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Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord,
“My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will
deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find
refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the
terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...
Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to
inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
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