My Confidence is in the Lord

Hebrews 4:16 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When life takes unexpected turns and we face hurdles our tired bones are not quite nimble enough to clear, God always seems to reach out in miraculous ways to assure us He will lend a hand. Sometimes it is through the kindness of friends, the gentleness of a sweet encouragement from strangers, or just someone who listens to the cries of a weary soul. In my life, nearly always, God intervenes by reminding me I have purpose before Him, and if I obey His call, He will confirm the source of my confidence. Him.

I was on the sidewalk of the busiest abortion center in the southeast all but one day this past week with our awesome Cities4Life teams.  I will admit, my heart was heavy with many struggles and as I drove to the place that God has so clearly called me, I wondered how my distracted soul could be of any use. Yesterday, it was very cold and our team was very small. At one point, a couple stood on the porch of the abortion center, clearly conflicted. I called out to them the whole time, offering hope and help, encouragement and pleading. They went to their car and sat in the car a long time. My fellow counselor prayed with me as we asked God to intervene.

We rejoiced as the couple finally drove away. They looked at me, troubled, as they pulled slowly down the street. They stopped as they passed our RV parked on the curb, clearly reading the slogans along the side offering help. Another of our counselors waved to them and they stopped and rolled down the window. I was already on my way over as they had slowed at the RV, bringing a blessing bag of gifts with me. I knew they had chosen not to abort.

As I approached, it was clear this couple did not speak English. The man spoke a little and asked, “How can you help?”

After determining they spoke Russian, I pulled out my phone and accessed Google Translator. In this manner, I managed to share our resources and offer hope and encouragement. At one point, in English, I asked, “Do you believe in God?”

The woman smiled and spoke the only clear sentence in English of her entire interaction with me: We believe in God.

The unedited/unpunctuated screenshot of part of our texts back and forth is pasted above. When I sent the portion of my discussion copied above, I handed her the blessing bag. I pulled out a little handmade baby blanket and told her she had a choice. She could wrap her child one day in this soft beautiful baby blanket, or she could instead abort and the child would be disposed as medical waste in a biohazard bag. Which would she prefer?

Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded as she held the blanket. 

“We will call you,” the man said, touching his wife’s arm. “Thank you so much.”

There were many miraculous interventions by God. First, we did not have a nurse for the mobile ultrasound RV that day. Normally, it would not be there if we didn’t have a nurse to do the ultrasound. However,  due to some miscommunication, the faithful driver didn’t know that and drove the two hour round trip anyway to bring it to the sidewalk. He could have gone home when he realized there was no nurse, but instead, he said he would stand with us on the sidewalk.

It was the HELP Pregnancy Center RV with the large message of HELP written on its side that compelled the distraught couple to stop. If Chris the driver had not been there, they may not have stopped to get the help they needed in their choice for life.

If we had been unable to communicate with the couple, we could not have offered help either. But technology aided me...me... who is about the least technologically savvy person on earth.

And when I was speaking to them via Google Translator, Liz, my fellow counselor made some calls and found a Russian interpreter who would help as needed down the road.  Later I asked other friends for Christian interpreters who might be able to help us and at least five people volunteered.

I have NO confidence that I am able to offer anything to alleviate the difficulties we encounter in women each day on the sidewalk. Lord knows I have no confidence I can even handle the situations I personally face. 

But God is able...and my confidence is in Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and all our needs will be satisfied when we trust God’s provision. He is sufficient. I am so humbled and grateful for the ministry of Cities4Life where I am daily reminded of this incredible truth.

To volunteer with this amazing ministry, click here for information.