Saturday, June 10, 2017

What is the Life that Bears Fruit for God?

Yesterday after spending the morning out at the abortion center sidewalks, and the early afternoon talking through final repairs to my computer with Microsoft, I had one hour before dinner left of my day. I raced out on my bicycle to the surprisingly empty bike path. Dinner time is a good time to go to the bike path. It is shady, a cool breeze is tiptoeing into the heat, and few others are out there. Nature and solitude are how I recharge. 

Plus, BONUS!! The blackberries are ripe! There are numerous bushes along the bikepath, and sweet fat ripe berries beckoned me all along my ride. I stopped often to shove a handful in my mouth. Yet again, another proclamation of the heavens declaring the Glory of God.

That morning, I had a lovely chat with two of the pro-choice "escorts" on the sidewalk.  I introduced myself  to one I had not met before and she said she knew who I was. She reads this blog! I had jumped in on a discussion of how Christians should care for the environment. I told her I could not agree more. That morphed into me telling her about my lifelong love of all creatures great and small, how I never step on an ant, capture spiders in the house to let them free outdoors, and write books about animals that others think are worthless and should be killed.

"I have a reverence for ALL life," I told her.

The other "escort" rolled her eyes, rightly sensing where I was going with this.

"That's why I grieve so deeply what is happening in there," I said, pointing to the abortion center. To their credit, both escorts remained, politely listening.

"The heavens declare the glory of God! All creation speaks of God, and that is where I feel closest to God, in the midst of His beautiful creation. All life is sacred!" Then I remembered a story from my college days. Since it was so relevant, I relayed it to them.

"When I was in college, I still remember a group of young men standing in a circle throwing a frog like a baseball to each other. I was horrified, because I love all life. But how could I say anything? I stood there watching, till I could stand it no more, and just blurted, 'STOP! That is cruel. The poor frog.'  They did stop, and all looked a little ashamed. I think the frog was dead by then. Sometimes it just takes one voice to speak up in the face of obvious cruelty and wrong. I HAD to speak up."

We ALL have to speak up. When the weak, the defenseless, the innocent, the vulnerable are being abused, harmed, and slaughtered, WE are accountable to God if we stand there silently.

We think maybe one baby was saved yesterday. The mom had been in and out the whole morning and seemed conflicted. She drove out before the abortionist arrived. She paused at the driveway, as though she would talk with us, but then drove on. The women are told by the pro-choice escorts NOT to stop and talk with us. Those escorts know all the help we offer, and yet, they do not want the women already regretting the abortion to speak to us, nor do they want those who chose life and could receive the bounty of our resources to speak to us.

Unlike so many who left the abortion center that day, that woman was not crying. If only she had our literature with our phone number and names on it so she could call for help. Without help, so many end up back in that place where the choice presented is only death.

On my bicycle, the beautiful scenery and the smell of the mimosa in bloom smoothed whatever raw edges my time on the sidewalk had sharpened. And then God reminded me that in the bitterness of the world, He created blackberries, so incredibly sweet.
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Please be a voice for the voiceless. We need volunteers for weekday mornings, particularly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com
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John 8:47
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

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