This is Aislee. She just turned three. Her mama drove down Latrobe Dr almost four years ago when I was a brand new sidewalk counselor. Her mom was on the way to the abortion center where I stand on the sidewalk with other Cities4Life volunteers, urging mothers to choose life. Her mother faced difficult circumstances, and saw abortion as her only way out of the struggles she faced.
Several of our volunteers stood along the road holding signs. One of those signs was of Malachi, a little unborn baby who had been aborted at twelve weeks. Aislee’s mom saw the sign, and realized that no matter what difficulties she faced, she could NOT do that to a living human being. She could not let her own baby be brutally dismembered in the violence of abortion. She kept driving. She didn’t tell any of us that she was choosing life because of the gruesome sign of poor aborted baby Malachi.
I was a brand new volunteer. I saw her cover her face when she saw the sign of Malachi. I saw her drive past the abortion center driveway and keep driving. Could that have been a saved baby, I wondered?
A few weeks ago, that mother stopped at the sidewalk to see the place where she had almost killed her child. She wanted to see baby Malachi again, and she wanted to thank us for standing there that day fighting for her baby’s life.
Recently, she sent this letter to one of the unborns’ staunchest defenders, Flip Benham, who had originally photographed baby Malachi. She sent him photographs of her precious Aislee, rescued from abortion, celebrating her third birthday:
I hope you are having a blessed morning! You have my permission to share whatever picture you like of Aislee! You can share her pictures with thousands! I was listening to the Holy Spirit Monday morning and I really wanted to share some encouragement with you guys! You guys really do make a difference and by serving God you allowed him to use you all to touch me. I thank you guys! I’m overly grateful summer 2014 we ran paths! I could of went to any abortion location but I’m blessed it was the location you guys minstered at. I often hear the Holy Spirit when speaking to me, but that day you all really allowed God to use you. I thank him for you guys. Something that seemed so scary then turned out to be the biggest blessing of my life! I don’t mind you sharing my story and I don’t mind to share my story as well. I hope you have a wonderful blessed day.
What if we hadn’t been there?
What if the city zoning officials had been successful in seizing the sign of Baby Malachi in their attempts to misapply signage laws as they did last summer? Would this precious child be alive?
What would the mother be feeling today if we hadn’t been there?
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Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
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Flip Benham was arrested two Saturdays ago. The prior week, he’d been sharing the Gospel, as he always does, at the abortion center. One particularly vile mouthed pro-choice advocate was shouting offensive and foul things to little children who were with their parents praying on the sidewalk. Flip told this woman she was “dead in her trespasses” and desperately needed to turn to Jesus. Five or six policemen were there watching and heard it all. The woman did not go to a single one of them to express a single concern for her life, as indeed, there was no reason for such concern aside from her eternal life. Later she went to the magistrate and said she had been threatened with her life by Flip Benham. The police were sent to the sidewalk to arrest Flip in front of another group of people from Lovelife Charlotte gathered in prayer. His trial is set for April.
Christians, beware. Our peaceful message of hope, life, truth in Jesus is being attacked. Persecution occurs when we are silent before persecutors. Express your outrage to the magistrate, City Council, pastors, fellow citizens, and news outlets.
What a beautiful story! How proud you must be to know you helped make such a great difference in any number of people's lives!
ReplyDelete“What if . . . ?” indeed! Who can guess what the world would have missing if this fine young lady had been slain before having a chance to take her first breath?
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’ ”
— Whittier
“They say life’s simple—but I don’t know.
Who can tell where a word will go?
Or how many hopes will rise and fall
With the weakest brick in the cellar wall?
Or how many hearts will break and bleed
As the result of one careless deed?”
—Edgar A. Guest, “My Aunt’s Bonnet”