Will It Be the Winds of Adversity or the Gentle Breeze of Life at the Abortion Center that Prevail?

A dramatic story played out on the sidewalks of the abortion center. The woman stopped at a mobile ultrasound on the RV up the street. She emerged from the RV, ultrasound photos in hand, and continued to drive down the street towards our Cities4Life team and the abortion center. She stopped for one of our volunteers and talked with her at length. She was young, overwhelmed, and tearful. She knew God would not have her abort her baby. She took our literature, then she drove on and pulled into the abortion center.

We called out to her with offers of resources, Bible verses to encourage and convict her heart, and information about the development of the child she carried in her womb. To our despair, she went in the clinic.

While that was happening, a second woman emerged from the RV up the street, ultrasound in hand, and also continued down the street. The same volunteer who had spoken to the first woman spoke with her. Like the one before her, this woman was tearful, also knew she should not abort, and also pulled into the abortion center. We called out to her as she and her boyfriend walked into the clinic.

A few moments later, the first woman emerged. She returned to her car, drove out of the parking lot and stopped for me.

“I couldn’t do it,” she told me.

She pulled over and while I got her contact information and told her about the wealth of resources and help we could offer, two other counselors appeared with gift bags for her.

The woman drove away, her baby alive, with our promises of a new way of living with a mentorship program and the backing of loving Christians, her hopes renewed. 

The second woman did not emerge from the clinic for an hour. She killed her baby, and then drove away to the same situation and life that had brought her there in the first place.

I drove to the Catawba river after my time on the sidewalk. As I often do whenever possible, I sought the peace and quiet of kayaking in the solitary grandeur of God’s gorgeous creation. This is where God often most clearly reveals aspects of Himself that I sorely need following the spiritual battles of the sidewalk: the assurance that He is there, He loves me, and His plans and purposes will prevail.

The headwind was fierce, gusting 15 mph or so. There were times I was paddling as hard as I could and not moving forward an inch! A few times, the choppy waves were so large that they buried my bow and doused me with cold water. Finally, I turned back to dock. It was not the expected, peaceful refuge I had hoped for. And on my beeline back to dock, I came a little too close to an osprey nest. The male osprey shrieked at me, and began dive bombing. He streaked inches above me, warning me repeatedly to GET OUT OF HERE NOW.

I am not certain what God’s message was, but it was not PEACE.

Sometimes, we will struggle. We will give all we have to give in the will of the Father we love and serve, and things will not develop as we hope and pray. Does that mean God is not there, or that He is not listening? Was He napping when the second woman aborted her baby? She heard and saw exactly what we offered the first woman who saved her baby. Was the fault ours...or God’s...or what??

I have to remind myself as often as I remind the new volunteers I train that our work before God is one of obedience to His call. The results belong to Him and the women whose hearts are in a struggle between life and death, good and evil. All we can do is be faithful to the message of hope in Christ and the offer of tangible resources. Sometimes our efforts will be blown away by the rebellious heart or the terrified soul who sees only the struggle and not the promise. Sometimes our efforts will be the tail wind that sends them sailing away from the disastrous choice of abortion.

Which will it be today? I return to the sidewalk this morning, and God willing, the river this afternoon. May the breeze be gentle and may His still, small voice whisper among the blossoming honeysuckles and azaleas, bringing the scent of His glory to all corners of the world and every conflicted, wounded soul.

***********

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1 Corinthians 10:13 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Romans 5:3-5 

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Jeremiah 29:11   

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

1 John 4:4 

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.